If 


v 


MORMONISM: 


ITS  LEADERS  AO  DESIGNS 


BY 


JOHN    HYDE,    JUN., 

FOEMEELY   A  MOBMON   KLDEE   AND  BE8IDENT  OF  SALT  LAKE   CITY. 


NEW    YORK : 

W.  P.   FETRIDGE    &    COMPANY, 

No.     281     BROADWAY, 

OPPOSITE   BTEWAET'S. 

1857. 


m 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1857,  by 
W.   P.    FETRIDGE    &    CO., 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  for  the  Southern  District  of 
New  York. 


MORSE 


8TEEEOTYPED  BY  FEINTED  BY 

THOMAS      B.      SMITH,  J.APPLEBY, 

82  &  84  Beekman-st.,  N.Y.  82  &  84  Beekman-st 


DEDICATION. 


TO    THE 

HONEST   BELIEVERS  IN  MORMONISM. 

MY  FRIENDS  : 

In  writing  the  following  work,  I  was  not  actuated  by 
the  base  design  of  helping  to  malign  an  unpopular  people, 

nor  by  the   unworthy  one  of  administering   to   mere   idle 
i« 

curiosity.  I  wrote  it  neither  to  feed  public  prejudice,  nor  to 
supply  public  scandal.  I  wrote  it  for  you ;  to  you,  there 
fore,  I  dedicate  it. 

I  know  your  sincerity ;  I  know  also  your  delusion.  As 
sincerely  deceived  as  yourselves,  I  have  preceded  you  to 
Salt  Lake  City.  Some  things  of  what  I  there  saw,  with 
the  reflections  they  have  suggested,  are  contained  herein. 
Of  the  much  that  ought  to  be  said,  I  have  endeavored 
to  say  a  little.  The  subject,  however,  is  by  no  means 
exhausted. 

While  it  is  better  to  learn  by  personal  experience  than 
ever  to  remain  ignorant,  it  is  far  wiser  to  profit  by  the 
experience  of  others.  Although  the  practices  of  individuals 

510202 


IV  DEDICATION. 

can  not  determine  the  principles  of  communities,  yet,  when 
those  practices  are  criminal  and  those  individuals  assume 
to  be  prophets  and  apostles,  all  men  ought  to  hesitate  before 
committing  themselves  to  their  jurisdiction,  believing  their 
pretensions,  or  imitating  their  examples. 

If  the  following  pages,  for  which  I  solicit  your  seriousj 
and  candid  perusal,  accomplish  no  more,  may  they  at  least 
lead  you  to  a  thorough  and  careful  re-investigation  of  your 
grounds  of  faith ;  while  they  teach  you  to  remember  that 
new  thoughts  are  not,  therefore,  true  thoughts  ;  nor  new  light 
true  light.  To  industriously  declaim  against  the  evils  exist 
ing  in  the  world,  does  not  render  proposed  remedies  neces 
sarily  good ;  and  wise  men  should  deliberate  before  rushing 
" from  evils  that  we  know, 


To  those  we  know  not  of." 

I  am  your  sincere  well-wisher, 

THE  AUTHOR. 


NEW  YORK,  July,  1857 


INTRODUCTION. 

IT  is  interesting  to  learn  the  peculiarities  of  a  remote 
nation  or  an  ancient  age.  It  is  far  more  important, 
however,  that  we  should  correctly  understand  the  char 
acter  and  practices  of  any  extraordinary  people  of  our 
own  day.  Mor monism  and  the  Mormons  are  subjects 
that  not  only  deserve  attention  or  excite  interest,  but 
demand  the  most  serious  consideration.  The  meanness 
of  its  origin,  the  singularity  of  its  history,  its  present 
anomalous  position,  its  still  increasing  dissemination,  the 
mysterious  influence  it  exercises  on  its  followers,  and 
its  ultimate  destiny,  should  commend  its  investigation  to 
all  persons.  As  a  curious  example  of  successful  impos 
ture,  and  a  stern  proof  of  human  fanaticism,  it  must  in 
terest  the  philosopher.  As  a  system  of  absolute  auto 
cracy  in  the  center  of  a  republic,  it  must  attract  the 
attention  of  politicians.  As  ensuring  human  misery, 
and  consummating  human  degradation,  in  the  cases  of 
thousands  of  credulous  men  and  women,  and  thousands 
more  of  helpless  children,  it  should  be  noticed  by  the 
philanthropist.  As  a  religious  delusion  increasing  very 


VI  INTRODUCTION. 

rapidly,  and  entailing  not  only  present  suffering,  but 
eternal  loss  on  its  infatuated  adherents,  it  ought  to 
arouse  the  divine  to  thought  and  action. 

Mormonism  is  no  longer  a  myth •  and  however  wise 
the  policy  of  contemptuous  disregard  for  its  mental  delu 
sion  or  its  moral  contaminations  may  have  previously 
been,  it  is  wise  no  longer.  It  has  become  a  fact,  and  is 
every  day  growing  more  substantial  and  consolidated. 
As  such  a  fact  it  deserves  to  be  examined,  and  demands 
to  be  met.  In  so  far  as  it  is  erroneous,  it  needs  refuta 
tion  ;  or  wicked,  it  needs  exposure ;  or  criminal,  it  needs 
punishment. 

To  be  met  it  must  be  understood ;  and  to  be  under 
stood  it  must  be  investigated.  There  is  much  falsehood 
circulated  about  the  Mormons.  This  every  one  must 
perceive.  Knowing  this,  many  truthful  accusations  are 
successfully  denied  by  their  apologists,  disbelieved  by 
their  followers,  and  rejected  by  impartial  persons,  accus 
tomed  to  newspaper  exaggerations.  In  such  case  the 
testimony  of  an  eye  and  ear  witness,  if  credible,  must  be 
important.  As  such,  the  following  work  is  submitted. 
The  author  has  endeavored  to  exhibit  the  people  of 
Utah  as  they  are  ;  and  while  he  has  much 

"  Extenuated, 
Has  set  down  naught  in  malice." 

Prophetic  assumptions  must  be  sustained  by  prophetic 
conduct,  or  they  fail  The  validity  of  bombastic  preten- 


INTRODUCTION.  Vll 

sions  to  superior  purity  can  only  be  determined  by  the 
extent  of  that  purity.  While  this  is  inevitably  true,  still 
the  correctness  of  principles  does  not  depend  on  consist 
ency  of  practice.  A  theory  may  be  admirable  and  prac 
ticable  however  much  neglected  or  despised.  Many 
sincere  believers  in  Mormonism,  as  a  system,  deplore  its 
exhibitions  as  a  practice.  To  prove  to  such  that  the 
practices  of  Mormons  are  the  natural  consequents  of 
their  theory,  is  another  object  of  this  work. 

Circumstances  throw  many  persons  into  controversy 
with  believers  of  this  system,  but  the  press  of  whose  oc 
cupations  prevents  any  elaborate  and  personal  investiga 
tion  of  their  tenets  and  history,  or  of  the  opposing 
arguments.  In  order  to  supply,  to  a  small  extent, 
such  information,  and  briefly  to  indicate  whence  such 
arguments  may  be  drawn,  has  been  another  design  of  the 
author. 

And  if  the  great  Source  and  Ultimatum  of  all  truth 
will  accept  and  bless  this  work,  to  the  inducing  any 
mind  to  shake  off  the  bondage  of  a  miserable  delusion 
the  author  will  feel  abundantly  repaid. 


CONTENTS. 

PAQB 
INTRODUCTION,    .......... 

CHAPTER    I. 

THE     AUTHOR. 

MORMONISM  IX  ENGLAND  AND  AMERICA — EMBRACES  MORMONISM — IS  ORDAINED 
AND  PBKACHES — GOES  AS  A  MISSIONARY  TO  FRANCE — LEAVES  ENGLAND  FOR 
AMERICA — VISITS  NAUVOO  AND  CARTHAGE — THE  SMITHS — ICAEIAN8 — THE 
PLAINS — THE  INDIANS — ARRIVES  AT  SALT  LAKE — IS  INITIATED  INTO  MORMON 
MYSTERIES — EFFORTS  TO  LEAVE  SALT  LAKE  CITY — APPOINTED  A  MISSIONARY 
TO  THE  SANDWICH  ISLANDS — LEAVES  FOR  CALIFORNIA — DOUBTS  AND  DIFFI 
CULTIES—PACIFIC  OCEAN — ARRIVES  AT  SANDWICH  ISLANDS — RENOUNCES 
MORMONISM — BRIGHAM'S  CERTIFICATE — MOTIVES  FOR  ACTING — CONDUCT  OP 
THE  AUTHORITIES  TOWARD  HIM,  .  .  .  .  .  .  .18 

CHAPTER    II. 

SALT     LAKE     CITY. 

"THE  BIG  MOUNTAIN" — EMIGRATION  KANYON — THE  BENCHES — GREAT  SALT 
LAKE — THE  CITY  WALL — THE  CITY — THE  INHARITANTS^-THE  HOUSES  OF  THE 
LEADING  MEN  NEAR  TEMPLE  BLOCK — KIMBALL'S  CITY  PROPERTY — BRIGHAM'S 
LION  HOUSE — THE  MANSION  AND  WHITE  HOUSE — MORMON  THEATER  AND 

DANCING-HALL— PUBLIC  BUILDINGS— TITHING  OFFICE  AND  SYSTEM  OF  TITH 
ING — COMMUNISM  AND  CONSECRATION — PUBLIC  LANDS — TEMPLE  BLOCK — 
TABERNACLE  AND  SABBATH  SERVICES — ENDOWMENT  HOUSE  AND  TEMPLE — 
THE  BOIL — CAPACITY  TO  SUPPORT  INCREASED  POPULATION — STARVATION — 
MANUFACTORIES — LIQUOR  MAKING  AND  CONSUMING — IRON  AND  COAL  FOR 
THE  PACIFIC  RAILROAD —MINERALS — WEAPON  MANUFACTORIES — THE  MORMON 
CENSUS  AND  LYING — MORMON  PROSPERITY  AND  PURITY,  .  .  .27 

CHAPTER    III. 

PRACTICAL     POLYGAMY. 

FAMILY  ARRANGEMENTS — FAVORITES — DOMESTIC  HAPPINESS — SLEEPING  ALONE 
—MAKINO  TABERNACLES— MOBMON  SALVATION— WIFE  HUNTING— MOTHEBS 

1* 


X  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

AND  DAUGHTERS  SEALED  TO  ONE  MAN — HALF-SISTER  WIFE — EFFECTS  OF 
POLYGAMY  ON  FIRST  WIVES — WHISKY — TERMAGANTS — ADULTERY — JEALOUSY 
— BRIGHAM  ON  CONNUBIALITIE8 — PROPORTION  OF  THE  SEXES  IN  UTAH — 
ARGUMENTS  USED  TO  INDUCE  YOUNG  GIRLS  TO  MARRY  POLYGAMISTS  IN 
PREFERENCE  TO  YOUNG  MEN — WHY  THEY  DO  NOT  LEAVE — EFFECTS  OF 
POLYGAMY  ON  THE  CHILDREN — MORTALITY — STERILITY  OF  WOMEN — EARLY 
MARRIAGE — DIVORCE — MRS.  MCLEAN  AND  PARLEY  P.  PRATT — MRS.  COBB  AND 
BRIGHAM — UTAH  MARRIAGES,  .  .  .  .  .  .  .51 

CHAPTER    IV. 

MORMON     MYSTERIES. 
SEALING  FOR  ETERNITY— WOMEN  SEALED  TO   ONE   AND   MARRIED   TO  ANOTHER 

HUSBAND — SPIRITUAL  WIVES — CAUSE  OF  SMITH'S  DEATH — SMITH'S  WIDOWS — 
"PROXY  DOCTRINE" — MARRIAGE  AND  SEALING  FOR  THE  DEAD — THE  ENDOW 
MENT — WASHING  AND  ANOINTING — FIRST  DEGREE  OF  AARONIO  PRIESTHOOD 
— SECOND  DEGREE  OF  AARONIC  PRIESTHOOD — FIRST  DEGREE  OF  MELCHISEDEO 
PRIESTHOOD — SECOND  DEGREE  OF  MELCHISEDEC  PRIESTHOOD — "  BEHIND  THE 
VAIL" — OBEDIENCE  WITH  EXAMPLES — 6EALING8  AT  THE  ALTAR — MURDERS — 
INITIATION  LECTURES — SEALING8  TO  INDIAN  SQUAWS — ADOPTION — SELLING 
DAUGHTERS,  ..........  83 

CHAPTER    Y. 

EDUCATION. 

PRACTICAL  EDUCATION— SCHOOL  SYSTEM— BRAGGADOCIO— SCHOOL  TEACHERS- 
THREE  MONTHS'  TERMS  AND  NINE  MONTHS'  VACATIONS — EVENING  SCHOOLS — 

DANCING  SCHOOLS — ORSON  PRATT  V.  BRIGHAM  YOUNG — KIMBALL  ON  EDU 
CATED  MEN — PRATT'S  MATHEMATICAL  CLASS — GRAMMAR  SCHOOLS — CULTIVATED 
FEMALE  SOCIETY — HOME  EDUCATION — FEMALE  "  BAB  BLEU8" — LITERARY  IN 
STITUTIONS — NOVEL-READING — DESERET  ALPHABET — NEWSPAPERS — BOOK  OF 
MORMON — SMITH'S  REVELATIONS — NEW  TRANSLATION  OF  THE  BIBLE — BOOK 
OF  ABRAHAM — KEY  TO  APOCALYPSE  OF  ST.  JOHN — PROPHECIES  OF  ENOCH — 
GOSPEL  OF  ADAM — WRITTEN  LAW  V.  ORAL  LAW — CONTROVERSIAL  WORKS,  115 

CHAPTER   VI. 

BRIGHAM      YOUNG     AT     HOME. 

HIS  BIOGRAPHY — BIRTH  AND  EDUCATION — EMBRACES  MORMONISM — MEETS 
SMITH  THE  PROPHET — JOURNEY  TO  MISSOURI — IS  ORDAINED  AN  APOSTLE — 
PREACHES — APPOINTED  PRESIDENT  OF  THE  APOSTLES — FLIES  FOR  HIS  LIFE — 
RELAYS  FOUNDATION  OF  TEMPLE  IN  JACKSON  COUNTY,  MISSOURI— MISSION  TO 
ENGLAND— RETURNS  TO  NAUVOO— BRIGHAM  AND  SMITH— BRIGHAM  AND  SID 
NEY  RIGDON — BUILDS  UP  NAUVOO — CONDUCTS  EMIGRATION — MORMON  BAT 
TALION — SALT  LAKE  CITY — BRIGHAM'S  LEADERSHIP — APPOINTED  PRESIDENT 


CONTENTS.  XI 

PAGE 

OF  CHURCH— QUABREL8  WITH  JUDGES  AND  EXPELS  THEM— COLONEL  8TEPTOE 
— "MODUS  OPERANDl"— SHOULD  HE  DIE,  FATE  OF  THE  CHUKCH— PERSONAL 
APPEARANCE— IX  COUNCIL  AND  IN  PULPIT— SATELLITES  TO  THIS  PLANET— 
HIS  MANNERS— STYLE  OF  ORATORY— AS  A  WRITER— AS  A  HU8BAUD  AND 
FATHER — DOMESTICITIES — HIS  WIVES — HIS  FAVORITE — WOMEN  COURTING  THE 
MEN — OCCUPATIONS  AND  PROPERTY — UNIVERSAL  CONFIDANT  AND  ADVISER — 
ADMINISTRATIVE  BLUNDERS — SECRET  OF  SUCCESS,  ....  136 

CHAPTER    VII. 

BRIGHAM     THE     PROPHET. 

INTENTION  OF  MORMONISM— SMITH'S  PREDICTION  AND  DESIGN— MORMON 
PRAYERS — CHRIST  COMING  IN  1890 — WHERE  HE  SHALL  DESCEND — BRIGIIAM'S 
POSITION — BRIGHAM  ON  HIMSELF — DRAWING  THE  BWOBD  OF  THE  ALMIGHTY 
— SHEDDING  BLOOD — BRIGHAM  ON  PROSPECTS  OF  UTAH — FANATICISM — HIS 
ARMY — HIS  INTENTION  IF  ARRESTED — HIS  METHOD  OF  GOVERNMENT — STEAL 
ING — BRIBERY — DEBT-PAYING — FRIGHTENING  APOSTATES — MORMON  MISSIONS 
AND  MISSIONARIES — BRIGHAM's  POLICY — HIS  SUCCESSOR — JOSEPH  SMITH,  JUN. 
— HEBER  C.  KIMBALL — O.  HYDE — P.  PRATT — JOSEPH  A  YOUNG — BRIGHAM'S 
GOD — ADAM  THE  FATHER  OF  CHRIST,  .  .  .  .  .  .172 

CHAPTER    VIII. 

CHRONOLOGICAL     HISTORY     OF     M  OR  MONISM,    199 

CHAPTER    IX. 

ANALYSIS   OF   INTERNAL  EVIDENCES   OF   BOOK  OF  MO  RM  0  N. 

INTRODUCTION— NATURE  AND  PURPORT  OF  THE  BOOK — CONTRADICTION  AS  TO 
PLATES — AS  TO  URIM  AND  THUMMIM — AS  TO  HEBREW  LANGUAGE — JEWISH 
MATERIALS  FOR  WRITING — LABAN'S  PLATES  AND  THEIR  CONTENTS — GENEAL 
OGIES — COPIES  OF  THE  LAW — HISTORY  OF  JEWS — VARIOUS  PROPHETS  OF 
BIBLE  AND  BOOK  OF  MORMON — CONTRADICTION  IN  PREDICTION — LEHl'S  COM 
PASS  OR  LIAHONA— NATURAL  HISTORY  OF  BOOK  OF  MORMON— OF  AMERICAN 
NATURAL  HISTORY— IMPORTATIONS  OF  STOCK— ELEPHANTS  IN  AMERICA— AS 
TRONOMICAL  ANTICIPATIONS — CONTRADICTIONS  BETWEEN  THE  PRETENDED 
AUTHORS  OF  THE  BOOK  OF  MORMON— SOLOMON'S  TEMPLE  IN  AMERICA— G IFTS 
OF  THE  SPIRIT  BEFORE  CHRIST — JARED'S  BARGES,  WHAT  THEY  WERE  AND 
WHAT  THEY  BROUGHT— PLAGIARISMS  FROM  THE  BIBLE— INCONSISTENCIES- 
PROPHETIC  APOLOGIES,  .  .  .  .  .  •  .  .210 

CHAPTER    X. 

EXTERNAL     EVIDENCES     OF     BOOK     OF     MORMON. 

MORMON  STYLE  OF  ARGUMENT — ATTACKS  ON  THE  BIBLE  EXAMINED — LAWS  OF 
EVIDENCE— CONTRADICTIONS  BETWEEN  STATEMENTS— UEIM  AND  THUMMIM— 


Xll  CONTENTS. 

PAGB 

AFFIDAVITS  OF  SMITH'S  ACQUAINTANCES — CONTRADICTIONS  OF  PROBABILITIES 
— SMITH'S  PREVIOUS  CHARACTER — AFFIDAVITS  OF  ELEVEN  CITIZENS — OF 
FIFTY-ONE — OF  DIFFERENT  INDIVIDUALS — SMITH'S  THREE  WITNESSES — CON 
TRADICTIONS — OLIVER  COWDERY — MARTIN  HARRIS — DAVID  WHITMER — OF  THE 
EIGHT  WITNESSES — ANALYSIS  OF  TESTIMONY — FALSE  GROUNDS  OF  THE  MOR 
MONS — THEIR  PROPHETIC  EVIDENCE — SUMMARY,  ....  287 

CHAPTER    XI. 

REAL  ORIGIN  OF  THE  BOOK  OF  MORMON. 

CREDIBILITY  OF  TESTIMONY — MONEY-DIGGING  IN  NKW  YORK — CHASE'S  "  PEEP- 
STONE" — SMITH'S  MODE  OF  TRANSLATING — PAGE'S  STONE — SMITH'S  PLATES — 
WILEY'S  PLATES — CUPIDITY  OF  SMITH'S  FAMILY — SMITH'S  OBJECT — MARTIN 
HARRIS'S  INDUCEMENT — OLIVER  COWDERY'S  INDUCEMENT — ORIGIN  OF  NAME — 
ORIGIN  OF  MATTER — SPALDING'S  RELATIONS'  TESTIMONY — SMITIl'8  MEANS  OF 
OBTAINING  SPALDING'S  MSS. — INCIDENTS  OF  BOOK  OF  MORMON — RELIGIOUS 

DECISIONS— RELIGIOUS   STYLE— GRAMMATICAL   CONSTRUCTION— THE   BIBLE,      .    262 

CHAPTER    XII. 

THEORETICAL      POLYGAMY. 

POSITION  —  ANTI-SCRIPTURAL  —  ADAM  —  NOAH — LAMECH — ABRAHAM — JACOB — 
DAVID — CHRIST — PAUL — CHRISTIAN  DISPENSATION — ANTI-NATURAL — PROPOR 
TIONS  OF  THE  SEXES — NATURE  A  CONFIRMER  OF  REVELATION — IRRATIONAL — 
WOMAN'S  POSITION  THE  TEST  OF  PROGRESS — CHILDREN'S  DEPENDENCE  ON 
THEIR  MOTHERS — WIVES'  INFLUENCE  OVER  HUSBANDS — HISTORY  AND  DESTINY 
OF  RACES — DIFFERENT  LAWS  OF  MARRIAGE — UNMARRIED  PROPHETS — INFE 
RIOR  RACES  MOST  PROLIFIC — "  POLYGAMY  A  PREVENTIVE  OF  PROSTITUTION1' 
EXAMINED — ANTI-MORMON — REVELATIONS — POPULATION  OF  UTAH,  .  .  284 

CHAPTER    XIII. 

THE      SUPPRESSION      OF     MORMONISM. 

MORMONISM  AS  A  CIVIL  POLITY  AND  AS  A  RELIGION — CAUSES  OF  MORMON 
PERSECUTIONS  AT  MISSOURI  AND  NAUVOO — J.  SMITH  A  CANDIDATE"  FOR  THE 
PRESIDENCY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES — SMITH  A  MOHAMMED — BRIGHAM  SUCCES 
SOR  TO  HIS  DESIGNS  AS  WELL  AS  OFFICE— HIS  MANAGEMENT — FAMINE  V.  AM 
BITION—THE  CAUSES  OF  HIS  FUTURE  FALL— MORMON  POLITICS— THE  OBJECTS 
TO  BE  ACCOMPLISHED  WITH  REGARD  TO  THEM— SUPPRESSION  OF  POLYGAMY 
— DUTY  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT  IN  THE  PREMISES — BENEFITS  OF  ANNEXATION 
TO  THE  MEN  AND  WOMEN — MAJORITY  OF  THE  MORMONS  FOREIGNERS — THE 
EFFECTS  OF  MERELY  APPOINTING  A  GOVERNOR  AND  SENDING  TROOPS — MOR 
MONISM  AS  A  RELIGIOUS  EVIL — MEANS  OF  UPROOTING  IT — DUTY  OF  6ECED- 
ES8  AND  OF  CHRISTIANS— ITS  FUNDAMENTAL  ERRORS  AND  WEAK  POINTS,  .  806 

LETTER   ADDRESSED   TO   BRIGHAM   YOUNG,       ......   881 


MORMONISM,  ITS  LEADERS  AND  DESIGNS. 


CHAPTER   I. 

THE      AUTHOR. 

Mormonism  in  England  and  America — Embraces  Mormonism — Is 
ordained  and  preaches — Goes  as  a  missionary  to  France — Leaves 
England  for  America — Visits  Carthage  and  Nauvoo — The  Smiths 
— Icariens — The  plains — Indians — Arrives  at  Salt  Lake — Initiated 
into  the  Mormon  mysteries — Efforts  to  leave  Salt  Lake  City — 
Appointed  a  missionary  to  the  Sandwich  Islands — Leaves  for  Califor 
nia — Doubts  and  difficulties — Pacific  ocean — Arrives  at  Sandwich 
Islands — Renounces  Mormonism — Brigham's  certificate — Motive  for 
active  conduct  of  the  Church  toward  him. 

BOOKS  require  to  be  instructive  and  credible.  These 
qualities  altogether  depend  on  the  opportunities  of  the  author 
to  obtain  corrrect  information,  and  the  purity  of  his  motives 
in  imparting  it.  To  have  been  a  Mormon,  is  to  be  an  object 
of  suspicion.  To  be  an  apostate,  is  to  be  regarded  with  dis 
trust.  To  be  an  apostate  Mormon,  is  to  be  doubly  suspected. 
As  the  weight  of  testimony  entirely  depends  on  the  credi 
bility  of  the  witness,  I  therefore  commence  my  evidence  with 
a  statement  as  to  myself.  Who  I  am,  how  I  became  what  I 
am,  and  why  I  write,  are  questions  every  one  should  ask.  I 
endeavor  to  reply.  Mormonism  in  England  and  Mormonism 
in  Utah  are  two  very  different  systems.  In  England  all  its 
objectionable  principles  were  not  only  ignored,  but  denied. 


14'  '  'THE   AUTHOR. 

Its  Apostles  and  Elders  not  only  uttered  negative  but  also 
positive  falsehoods,  in  order  to  induce  belief.  They  not  only 
denied  many  things  that  were  true,  but  stated  many  things 
that  were  utterly  false.  As  a  sample  of  their  falsehoods,  I  will 
instance  polygamy.  This  was  practiced  by  Smith  in  1838, 
and  the  Mormon  Apostles  knew  it.  Yet,  when  the  Church 
was  charged  with  its  adoption,  Parley  P.  Pratt,  in  Man 
chester,  England,  before  the  general  conference  of  the  Eu 
ropean  churches,  and  in  the  Millennial  Star  of  1846,  thus  pub 
licly  denounced  it :  "  Such  a  doctrine  is  not  held,  known,  or 
practiced  as  a  principle  of  the  Latter-day  Saints.  It  is  but 
another  name  for  whoredom  j  and  is  as  foreign  from  the  real 
principles  of  the  Church,  as  the  devil  is  from  God ;  or  as 
sectarianism  is  from  Christianity"  (Millennial  Star,  vol.  vi., 
p.  22).  And  yet  this  man  knew  that  Smith  and  others  had 
children  living  who  were  the  offspring  of  this  very  practice  ! 
John  Taylor,  another  Mormon  Apostle,  in  a  discussion  held  at 
Boulogne,  France,  in  July  1850,  was  charged  with  the  belief 
of  this  doctrine,  to  which  accusation  he  thus  replied : 
"  We  are  accused  here  of  polygamy  and  actions  the  most  in 
delicate,  obscene  and  disgusting,  such  as  none  but  a  corrupt 
heart  could  have  conceived.  These  things  are  too  outrageous 
to  be  believed ;  therefore  I  shall  content  myself  with  reading 
our  views  of  chastity  and  marriage,  from  a  work  published 
by  us,  containing  some  of  the  articles  of  our  faith."  He 
read  in  the  Book  of  Smith's  Revelations,  p.  330,  the  marriage 
covenant:  "You  both  mutually  agree  to  be  each  other's 
companion,  husband  and  wife  ;  observing  all  the  legal  rights 
belonging  to  this  condition ;  that  is,  keeping  yourselves 


THE     AUTHOR.  15 

wholly  for  each  other,  and  from  all  others  during  your 
lives!"  And  on  p.  331  :  "Inasmuch  as  this  Church  of 
Jesus  Christ  has  been  reproached  with  the  crime  of  fornica 
tion  and  polygamy,  we  declare  that  we  believe  that  one  man 
should  have  one  wife,  and  one  woman  but  one  husband,  ex 
cept  in  case  of  death,  when  either  is  at  liberty  to  marry 
again !"  And  again,  on  p.  124  :  "  Thou  shalt  love  thy  wife 
with  all  thy  heart,  and  shall  cleave  unto  her,  and  none  else  ; 
and  he  that  looketh  on  a  woman  to  lust  after  her,  shall 
deny  the  faith,  and  not  have  the  spirit,  and  be  cast  out." 
"  There,"  exclaimed  Elder  Taylor,  triumphantly,  "  that  is  our 
doctrine  on  this  subject"  (Taylor's  Discussion  at  Boulogne, 
p.  8).  And  this  man  had  four  wives  wrangling  and  quarreling 
at  Utah,  and  was  paying  attentions  to  a  girl  at  Jersey,  Chan 
nel  Islands,  at  the  very  moment  he  uttered  these  willful, 
intentional  falsehoods ! 

The  illustrious  examples  of  such  pseudo-inspired  Apostles 
were  industriously  imitated  by  similarly  inspired  Elders. 
Where  the  former  were  content  with  mere  affirmation  or  denial, 
the  latter  blasphemously  called  on  God  to  attest  their  verac 
ity;  and  challenged  the  Almighty  to  disprove  their  statements. 
Some  of  them  denounced  their  accusers  with  bitter  curses, 
and  threatened  them  with  all  kinds  of  spiritual  horrors.  From 
the  lips  of  such  men,  and  others  who  had  been  deceived  by 
such  men,  did  my  father  and  myself  first  hear  of  Mormonisrn. 
The  character  of  Smith,  his  many  mighty  miracles,  his  pro 
found  sagacity,  his  inspired  teachings,  the  love  of  the  Saints, 
the  purity  of  their  Zion,  their  frequent  tribulations  and  suf 
ferings,  their  uncomplaining  submission  and  uncompromising 


16  THE     AUTHOR. 

virtue,  came  forth  resplendent  from  their  testimonies.     Such 
statements,  repeated  constantly,  and  by  different  individuals, 
accompanied  by  vigorous  attacks  on  the  divisions,  dissensions, 
and  acrimony  exhibited  in  too  many  sectaries,  spiced  by  the 
empty  bombast  and  cant  of  all  pretended  moral,  political,  and 
religious  reformers,  apparently  sustained  by  positive  practice ; 
•added  to  these  incentives,  a  bewildering  method  of  using, 
and  an  extensive  acquaintance  with  passages  of  Scripture ; 
novel  dogmas  sincerely  believed  and  enthusiastically  taught, 
for  which  they  claimed  special  revelation  as  their  origin ;   all 
this,  heightened  by  the  most  barefaced  assertions  of  predic 
tions  accomplished,  of  singular  healings  certainly  performed, 
of  positive  promises  of  conviction  following  obedience,  of  the 
ancient  signs,  and  of  the  old  priesthood — all  this  uttered  by 
men  who  hesitated  at  almost  no  falsehood  "  which  should 
convert  a  soul,"  could   not   but  arrest  our  attention.     "  To 
doubt  is  to  be  damned  already,"  said  Paul ;  and  he  was  right. 
Into  this  whirlpool  of  enthusiasm  we,  with  many  others,  were 
insensibly  borne.     Very  little  attention  was  paid  to  the  sub 
ject  by  the  conservators  of  religious  truth.     Despised,  it  was 
neglected ;    and  because   neglected,  it  continued  to   grow. 
With  little  or  no  contradiction,  and  the  little  that  was  made, 
readily  silenced  by  these  men,  they  made  themselves  believed. 
All  that  was  known  of  Mormonism  was  known  from  their 
statements ;    positively  thinking  it  something  holier,   purer 
and  truer,  it  was  embraced  by  hundreds.     To  fervently  em 
brace  a  delusion,  is  to  more  sincerely  believe  it.     They  clothed 
it  in  the  drapery  of  warm  emotions ;  and  good  men,  in  their 
desires  for  something  more  exalted  and  God-like,  viewed  it 


THE    A  UTHOR.  17 

through  the  distorted  medium  of  their  own  wishes ;  not  know 
ing  it  as  it  was,  they  thought  it  was  what  they  hoped  it  to 
be.  When  they  began  to  see  the  difference  between  their  con 
ception  and  the  reality,  many  were  too  enmeshed  to  forsake 
it.  Men  always  strive  to  make  that  appear  true  which  they 
conceive  it  their  interest  to  be  true ;  because  they  like  to 
have  for  their  actions  the  sanction  of  their  own  consciences. 
Nor  is  this  mental  process  very  difficult ;  and  it  easily  and 
satisfactorily  accounts  for  glaring  absurdities,  and  yet  actual 
sincerity.  It  is  thus  with  many  of  the  Mormons.  They 
were  sincere  in  embracing  Mormonism ;  and  when  their 
minds  began  to  doubt,  if  they  ever  had  sense  enough  to 
doubt,  the  weight  of  interest  crushed  down  the  resistance  of 
conscience  ;  and,  although  ceasing  to  be  true  to  themselves, 
they  became  true  to  their  system.  The  dread  of  being  called 
inconsistent  induced  sincere  consistency  to  their  religion, 
while  sacrificing  the  only  real  consistency,  that  of  man  with 
himself. 

I  had  an  ideal  of  what  religion  and  the  worship  of  God 
might  be  ;  I  imagined  that  this  system,  as  I  then  heard  it  ex 
pounded,  realized  that  ideal ;  and,  in  the  love  of  that  ideal,  I 
embraced  it  and  was  accordingly  baptized,  on  the  4th  of  Sep 
tember,  1848,  being  then  a  boy  of  fifteen  years.  Since  prov 
ing  that  that  ideal  religion  is  fallacious,  and  that  the  reality 
of  Monnonism-  is  depraving,  I  have  abandoned  it. 

That  I  was  sincere  in  my  faith  and  conscientious  in  my 
conduct,  I  believe  no  one  will  attempt  to  dispute.  In  the 
December  of  the  same  year,  I  was  ordained  a  Priest,  and 
commenced  to  preach  Mormonism  as  I  had  received,  and  then 


18  THE     AUTHOR. 

believed  it  to  be.  This  I  continued  to  do  in  various  places  in 
England  till,  in  June,  1851,  I  was  appointed  to  join  the 
French  mission,  as  it  was  called,  and  then  under  the 
direction  of  Elder  John  Taylor,  who  had,  in  1850,  left  Salt 
Lake,  expressly  to  commence  preaching  Mormonism  in  that 
country. 

On  the  1st  of  August,  1851, 1  was  ordained,  as  the  follow 
ing  certificate  shows,  to  be  "  one  of  the  Seventies,"  an  office 
of  equal  power  but  inferior  jurisdiction  to  that  of  "  one  of  the 
Twelve." 


JL 


®0  &U  to  ttj!)om  tljese  present©  sljall  came: 

^1)13  Certifies  tljat  JOHN  HYDE  has  been  received  into  the 
CHURCH  OF  JESUS  CHRIST  OF  LATTER-DAY  SAINTS, 
organized  on  the  SIXTH  DAY  OF  APRIL,  1830,  and  was  OR 
DAINED  into  the  EIGHTH  QUORUM  of  SEVENTIES,  the 
First  day  of  August,  1851,  and  by  virtue  of  his  OFFICE  he  is 
authorized  to  PREACH  THE  GOSPEL,  and  officiate  in  all  the 
ordinances  thereof,  in  ah1  the  world,  agreeable  to  the  authority  of 
the  HOLY  PRIESTHOOD  vested  in  him ;  we,  therefore,  in  the 
name,  and  by  the  authority  of  this  CHURCH,  grant  unto  this 
our  BROTHER  this  LETTER  OF  COMMENDATION  unto  all 
persons  wherever  his  lot  may  be  cast,  as  a  proof  of  our  esteem, 
praying  for  his  prosperity  in  the  Redeemer's  cause. 

GIVEN  under  our  hands  at  Great  Salt  Lake  City,  this  Fifteenth 
day  of  June,  1854. 

JOS.  YOUNG,  President. 
ROBEET  CAMPBELL,  Clerk. 


I  remained  engaged  in  the  French  mission  till  January, 


THE     AUTHOR.  19 

1853  :  a  portion  of  which  time  I  was  in  the  Channel  Islands, 
and  a  portion  I  spent  at  Havre-de-Grace. 

On  February  5th,  1853, 1  sailed  from  Liverpool,  in  com 
pany  with  nearly  four  hundred  passengers  for  New  Orleans. 
The  passengers  were  exclusively  Mormons,  and  all  bound  to 
the  Great  Salt  Lake  Valley ;  indulging  high  hopes  of  there 
realizing  all  that  is  desirable  in  holiness,  purity,  and  brother 
hood.  We  were  organized  in  the  Mormon  fashion,  with  a 
President  and  his  two  Councilors,  one  of  which  I  was  chosen 
to  be.  After  an  ordinary  passage  to  New  Orleans,  we  ascend 
ed  the  magnificent  Mississippi,  to  Keokuk,  Iowa.  From  Keo- 
kuk,  I  paid  a  visit  to  ISTauvoo,  in  company  with  an  estimable 
and  talented  gentleman,  then  a  Mormon,  but  whom  a  view  of 
Salt  Lake  doings  has  since  caused  to  apostatize  and  return  to 
England.  The  Temple  that  the  Mormons  had  built  and  com 
pleted  in  1845,  was  in  ruins,  a  savage  specimen  of  modern 
Vandalism.  (See  engraving?) 

I  spent  several  days  conversing  with  J.  Smith's  mother,  wife, 
and  family,  and  heard  many  charges  against  Brigham  and  his 
associates  for  actions  in  which,  according  to  the  Smiths,  they 
had  disobeyed  the  injunctions,  contradicted  the  teachings,  and 
maligned  the  memory  of  their  late  Prophet. 

From  this  place  I  visited  the  Carthage  jail,  where  J.  Smith 
and  his  brother,  Hiram,  were  assassinated  in  cold  blood  ;  and 
the  wall  against  which  he  was  placed,  and  barbarously  shot 
at,  after  his  death.  (See  engraving) 

The  camp  was  thronging  with  life,  there  being  nearly  two 
thousand  five  hundred  Mormons  preparing  to  start  for  the 
plains.  It  presented  a  very  pleasing  view,  and  was  delight- 


20  THE     AUTHOR. 

fully  situated  on  a  hill  overlooking  the  thriving  city  of 
Keokuk  on  the  one  side,  and  the  majestic  Mississippi  on  the 
other. 

On  June  1st,  the  company  with  which  I  traveled  left  for 
Council  Bluffs  City,  crossed  the  river  Missouri,  on  the  12th, 
saw  the  last  civilized  habitations  that  we  were  to  see  for 
months,  and  were  fairly  en  route  for  Salt  Lake.  The  scenery 
on  the  road,  the  incidents >f  of  camp  life,  with  stampedes  of 
cattle,  toiling  along  by  day,  uncomfortable  watchings  by 
night,  bad  roads  to  mend,  bridges  to  build,  the  sense  of  free 
dom  exciting  the  mind,  till  the  monotony  becomes  tedious  and 
wearisome  ;  all  this  has  been  so  ably  and  so  often  described,  as 
to  be  familiar  to  every  one.  "We  met  a  large  party  of  Pawnee- 
Loups,  on  the  Platte.  They  had  just  come  from  a  battle  with 
the  Sioux ;  they  were  decked  in  all  the  glory  of  Indian  war 
paint,  were  well  mounted  and  armed,  and  with  their  ferociously- 
daubed  faces,  heads  shaved  bare  except  the  feathered  scalp- 
lock,  their  threatening  gestures,  screaming  tones,  and  insolent 
conduct,  were  very  formidable  fellows.  We  made  them  a  large 
present  of  flour  and  other  edibles  for  their  " hungry  papooses" 
or,  strictly  speaking,  they  levied  the  tax,  and  we  paid  it. 

We  arrived  at  Salt  Lake  City,  in  October,  just  in  time  for 
the  Fall  Conference.  I  married  a  young  lady  to  whom  I  had 
been  engaged  in  London,  and  began  to  teach  school.  Of 
course  I  was  not  long  at  Salt  Lake  before  discovering  the 
difference  between  what  I  had  been  taught  to  expect  and 
what  I  saw.  It  may  be  asked  why  did  I  not  immediately 
leave  Salt  Lake,  and  forsake  Mormonism?  Convictions  re 
ceived  in  ooynood,  and  that  have  been  maturing  and  deepen- 


THE      AUTHOR.  21 

ing  with  one's  development,  are  not  to  be  overturned  by  one 
disappointment  or  by  one  discovery.  Inconsistency  and  con 
tradiction  do  much  to  destroy  belief;  but  these  inconsistencies 
might  be  imaginary.  Every  tie  that  could  bind  any  one  to 
any  system,  united  me  to  Mormonism.  It  had  been  the  re 
ligion  that  my  youth  had  loved  and  preached ;  it  was  the 
faith  of  my  parents  ;  of  my  wife  and  her  relatives  ;  my  mind 
had  been  toned  with  its  views,  and  my  life  associated  with 
its  ministers.  I  knew  little  or  nothing  of  any  other  faith,  and 
I  clung  with  desperate  energy  to  the  system,  although  I  repu 
diated  the  practices. 

On  Friday,  February  10,  1854,  I  was  initiated  into  the 
mysteries  of  the  "Mormon  endowment."  What  was  the 
nature  of  those  mysteries,  none,  before  initiation,  could  have 
an  idea.  To  understand,  it  was  necessary  to  receive  them.  His 
is  a  strong  mind  over  whom  a  mass  of  ceremonies  could  have 
no  influence,  in  which  representations  of  the  most  august 
beings  are  made  to  move  and  talk,  and  which  included  the 
most  solemn  oaths,  accompanied  by  frightful  penalties.  The 
obligations  of  Free-masonry  and  Odd-fellowship  exercise  no 
small  influence  over  the  initiated  ;  nor  am  I  surprised  that 
a  superstitious  terror,  in  many  instances,  enchains  these  en 
dowed  Mormons,  at  Salt  Lake,  in  complete  subjection  to  their 
'  Prophet  Brigham,  and  his  coadjutors. 

In  the  spring  of  1854, 1  determined  to  leave  Salt  Lake  for 
California,  but  had  not,  neither  could  I  obtain  the  means  to 
do  so.  I  candidly  wrote  and  stated  my  views,  however,  to 
Orson  Pratt,  one  of  the  Twelve  Apostles,  with  whom  I  was  in 
timate,  and  we  frequently  conversed  on  the  subject.  I  had 


22  THE     AUTHO  R. 

then  resolved  to  leave  in  1855,  if  possible,  but  was  still  pre 
vented  by  poverty.  At  the  conference  held  in  April,  1856, 
I  was  publicly  appointed,  without  any  previous  intimation,  to 
go  on  a  mission  to  the  Sandwich  Isles,  and  was  instructed  to 
leave  by  the  May  following.  I  accepted  the  appointment.  I 
thought  that  perhaps,  as  I  was  told,  I  had  "  grown  rusty ;" 
that  my  waning  faith  was  the  result  of  inaction ;  that  to  be 
actively  employed  in  the  ministry  might  waken  up  my  old 
confidence ;  that  in  the  effort  to  convince  others,  I  might 
succeed  in  reconvincing  myself.  The  religion  of  my  youth 
was  still  so  enwrapped  around  my  habits  of  thought,  that  I 
was  desirous  rather  to  prove  it  true,  than  demonstrate  it  to  bo 
false.  I  tried  hard  to  believe  it  true,  endeavored  to  act  as 
though  I  did  believe  it,  in  the  hope  of  producing  conviction. 
In  renouncing  it,  I  have  done  so  in  spite  of  my  prejudices. 

In  May,  accordingly,  I  left  Salt  Lake  City  for  the  Sandwich 
Islands,  having  been  chosen  as  president  over  the  missionaries 
destined  for  that  location.  None  of  the  missionaries  to  the 
Sandwich  Islands  were  allowed  to  take  their  wives  ;  this  and 
other  reasons  compelled  me  to  leave  Mrs.  Hyde  with  her 
relatives  at  Salt  Lake.  Besides  this,  my  mind  was  at  sea, 
floating  in  darkness  and  indecision.  Ignorant  of  my  real 
position,  I  knew  not  whither  I  should  go  if  I  were  to  turn  ;  I 
therefore  went  straight  on.  I  had  to  leave,  for  to  remain  was 
to  abjure  Mormonism ;  and  I  was  not  fully  prepared  for  final 
and  permanent  apostacy.  "  I  had  seen  Rome,  was  disgusted 
with  Rome,  and  still  tried  to  disconnect  Romanism  from 
Rome ;"  and  as  it  was  with  another,  to  some  extent  it  was 
with  me,  it  needed  time,  it  needed  thought,  it  needed  collat- 


THE     AUTHOR.  23 

ing  my  recollections,  that  I  might  feel  the  force  of  their  sum. 
The  opportunity  for  this  thought  and  collation  could  not  be 
obtained  at  Salt  Lake  City,  nor  in  the  business  of  crossing  the 
plains.  I  endeavored  to  view  Mormonism  objectively,  for 
theoretically  it  assumes  to  be  the  religion  of  human  progress, 
apart  from  Mormonism  subjectively,  as  it  was  then  existing. 
I  tried  and  failed.  On  the  Pacific  ocean,  in  communion  with 
God  and  my  own  soul,  the  darkness  of  doubt  that  had  blinded 
my  eyes,  and  the  mists  of  indecision  that  had  paralyzed  my 
energies,  left  me,  and  I  resolved  not  only  to  renounce  Mormon- 
ism,  but  also  to  tell  the  world  freely,  fully,  and  fearlessly,  as 
well  my  reasons,  as  my  experience. 

To  this  end  I  have  labored  in  the  Sandwich  Isles,  Califor  • 
nia,  and  elsewhere ;  and  to  this  object  do  I  determine  to 
devote  myself.  If  Mormonism  as  it  is  be  true,  the  better  it 
is  understood  the  better  will  it  be  for  the  world.  If  it  be 
false,  it  is  the  duty  of  every  man  to  endeavor  to  manifest  its 
errors.  To  deter  persons  from  embracing  delusion,  and  to 
rescue  from  complete  self-sacrifice  any  who  have  already  em 
braced  it  are  my  only  motives  for  adopting  my  course. 

My  opportunities  for  knowing  Mormonism  as  it  is,  will  not, 
I  think,  be  disputed  by  any  of  its  believers.  My  motives  for 
revealing  that  knowledge  are  open  to  God  and  the  world. 
Ever  since  my  first  connection  with  the  Church,  honors  and 
authority  have  been  heaped  upon  me.  Increased  and  in 
creasing  honors  were  before  me  when  I  abandoned  it.  I 
could  not  have  been  actuated  by  disappointed  ambition, 
therefore,  because  they  never  gave  me  any  neglect  to  avenge. 
Nor  could  it  have  been  from  personal  pique,  as  I  know  of  no 


24  THE     AUTHOR. 

antipathy  felt  toward  me.  That  my  secession  was  entirely 
voluntary,  and  my  reputation  unquestioned,  the  subjoined 
document,  handed  to  me  immediately  previous  to  leaving 
Salt  Lake,  will  prove. 

The  tone  adopted  by  the  Mormon  authorities  toward  me, 
subsequent  to  my  secession,  may  be  judged  by  the  following 
extract  from  a  sermon,  preached  by  H.  C.  Kimball,  at  Salt 
Lake  City,  January  11,  1857  : 

"  There  is  a  little  matter  of  business  that  we  want  to  lay 
before  this  congregation  in  regard  to  John  Hyde,  who  went 
to  the  Sandwich  Islands  on  a  mission.  There  are  a  couple 
of  letters  that  the  brethren  have  received  ;  we  shall  read  a 
little  from  them,  and  give  you  to  understand  the  course  he  is 
taking.  (The  letters  were  read.)  You  hear  the  letters  and 
the  testimony  of  our  brethren  in  regard  to  John  Hyde.  Such 
matters,  many  times,  have  passed  along,  and  we  have  not- 
noticed  them,  but  have  let  men  deny  the  faith,  speaking 
against  it,  and  deliver  lectures  through  the  world.  Many 
times  we  have  let  them  run  at  large,  but  the  time  is  now 
passed  for  such  a  course  of  things.  By  the  consent  of  my 
brethren,  I  shall  move  that  John  Hyde  be  cut  off  from  the 
Church  of  Jesus  Christ  of  Latter-day  Saints,  and  I  will  put  the 
motion  in  full ;  that  is,  that  he  be  cut  off,  root  and  branch  ; 
that  means  pertaining  to  himself.  When  this  motion  is  put, 
I  want  you  to  vote,  every  one  of  you,  either  for  or  against, 
for  there  is  no  sympathy  to  be  shown  unto  such  a  man.  Br. 
Wells  has  seconded  the  motion  I  have  made.  All  that  are 
in  favor  that  John  Hyde  be  cut  off  from  the  Church  of  Jesus 
Christ  of  Latter-day  Saints,  and  that  he  be  delivered  over  to 
Satan  to  be  buffeted  in  the  flesh,  will  raise  their  right  hands. 
(All  hands  were  raised.) 

A  motion  has  been  put,  and  unanimously  carried,  that 


THE     AUTHOR. 


25 


EMDIBIB'S 


2U1 


lo 


io  Cetter 


dome  : 


&(jis  certifies  that  the  bearer,  Elder  JOHN  HYDE,  Jun.,  is  in 
full  faith  and  fellowship  with  the  CHURCH  OF  JESUS  CHRIST 
OF  LATTER-DAY  SAINTS,  and  by  the  General  Authorities  of 
said  Church,  has  been  duly  appointed  a  MISSION  to  SAND 
WICH  ISLES  to  PREACH  THE  GOSPEL,  and  administer  in 
all  the  ordinances  thereof  pertaining  to  his  office. 

And  we  invite  all  men  to  give  heed  to  his  teachings  and  coun 
sels  as  a  man  of  GOD,  sent  to  open  to  them  the  door  of  life  and 
salvation  —  and  assist  him  in  his  travels,  in  whatsoever  things  he 
may  need. 

And  we  pray  GOD  the  ETERNAL  FATHER  to  bless  Elder 
HYDE,  and  all  who  receive  him,  and  minister  to  his  comfort, 
with  the  blessings  of  heaven  and  earth,  for  time  and  for  all  eter 
nity,  in  the  name  of  JESUS  CHRIST.  Amen. 

^igneb  at  <$reat  ISalt  ITake  (ftiig,  TERRITORY  OF  UTAH, 
April  10th,  1856,  in  behalf  of  said  Church. 


FIRST  PRESIDENCY! 


-O  THE     AUTHOR. 

John  Hyde  be  cut  off  root  and  branch  ;  that  is,  himself,  and 
all  the  roots  and  branches  that  are  within  him.  This  has  no 
allusion  to  his  family.  He  has  taken  a  course  by  which  he 
has  lost  his  family,  and  forfeited  his  priesthood  ;  he  has  for 
feited  his  membership.  The  limb  is  cut  off,  but  the  priest 
hood  takes  the  fruit  that  was  attached  to  the  limb  and  saves 
it,  if  it  will  be  saved.  Do  you  understand  me  ?  His  wife  is 
not  cut  off  from  this  Church,  but  she  is  free  from  him  ;  she 
is  just  as  free  from  him  as  though  she  never  had  belonged  to 
him.  The  limb  she  was  connected  to  is  cut  off,  and  she 
must  again  be  grafted  into  the  tree,  if  she  wishes  to  be  saved  ; 
that  is  all  about  it.'1 — Deseret  News,  January  21st,  1857. 

Not  only  was  I  not  influenced  by  prejudice,  pique  or  disap 
pointment  in  my  secession  from  the  Mormon  Church ;  but, 
in  spite  of  all  prejudices,  at  the  sacrifice  of  all  friendships,  at 
the  hazard  of  breaking  every  tie  that  united  me  to  happiness 
and  the  world,  and  at  the  risk  of  life  itself,  I  have  acted 
as  I  have.  That  I  have  done  right  I  am  convinced.  God 
knows  I  have  done  it  in  the  love  of  right.  To  be  able,  in 
how  slight  degree  soever,  to  expose  error  and  yet  to  remain 
silent  is  to  connive  at  and  share  the  responsibility  of  that 
error.  While  deploring  that  my  best  years  for  improvement 
have  been  squandered  in  delusion,  it  is  a  duty  I  owe  to  others 
similiarly  circumstanced,  to  endeavor  to  convince  them  of 
their  true  position.  Less  than  this  is  less  than  right.  For  as 
the  subject  is  of  paramount  importance  to  the  world  if  true, 
and  to  the  Mormons  themselves  if  false,  so  its  correct  ex 
posure  must  therefore  be  equally  important,  and  conse 
quently,  so  far  obligatory. 

If  in  the  succeeding  pages  I  may  have  been  guilty  of  ex 


THE     AUTHOR.  27 

aggeration,  I  am  not  aware  of  it ;  I  certainly  do  not  intend 
it.  Mormonism  licenses  too  much  corruption  under  the  name 
of  religion,  to  need  any  exaggeration  to  make  it  atrocious. 
The  Mormons  are  guilty  of  too  many  crimes  to  need  any  ad 
dition  to  them  to  render  them  abominable. 


CHAPTER    II. 

SALT      LAKE      CITY. 

"  The  big  mountain" — Emigration  kanyon — The  benches — Great  Salt 
Lake — The  city  wall — The  city — The  inhabitants — The  houses  of  the 
leading  men  near  Temple  block — Kimball's  city  property — Brigham's 
Lion  house — The  Mansion  and  White  House — Mormon  theater  and 
dancing  hall — Public  buildings — Tithing  office  and  system  of  tithing 
— Communism  and  consecration — Public  lands — Temple  block — Tab 
ernacle  and  Sabbath  services — Endowment  house  and  Temple — The 
soil — Capacity  to  support  increased  population — Starvation — Manufac 
tories — Liquor  making  and  consuming — Iron  and  coal  for  the  Pacific 
railroad — Minerals — Weapon  manufactories — The  Mormon  census 
and  lying — Mormon  prosperity  and  purity. 

BETWEEN  the  western  border  of  the  States  on  the  Atlantic 
side,  and  the  Pacific  States  of  this  great  continent,  there  are 
vast  prairies,  dreary  and  treeless,  sand-hills,  mud  flats,  rocky 
mountains,  and  rapid  rivers.  Sixteen  hundred  and  sixty-seven 
miles  of  travel  from  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  vid  Council  Bluffs  City, 
brings  one  to  the  Valley  of  the  Great  Salt  Lake.  A  journey 
through  tortuous  mountain  defiles,  crossing  creeks  with  pre 
cipitous  banks,  over  roads  that  terrify  even  expert  Jehus; 
wearied  with  a  monotony  more  fatiguing  than  a  sea  voyage, 
any  valley  would  seem  lovely,  and  any  respite  would  be  hailed 
as  a  paradise.  This  fact  accounts  for  the  joy  with  which 
travelers  hail  the  first  glimpse  of  the  barren  and  bare-valleyed 
home  of  the  Saints.  Will  the  reader  make  the  tour  with  me  ? 

We  have  just  climbed  up  a  steep,  rocky  hill.     Three  or 


SALT     LAKE     CITY.  29 

four  teams  to  each  wagon  have  at  last  dragged  them  all  safely 
to  the  summit  of  the  "  big  mountain."  The  cattle  are  pant 
ing  and  puffing  and  lying  down  for  a  rest,  while  we  gaze  at  a 
very  imposing  scene.  We  are  now  standing  on  an  eminence 
of  the  Wahsatch  mountains,  over  eight  thousand  feet  above 
the  level  of  the  ocean,  surrounded  by  peaks  that  rise  majest 
ically  above  our  heads,  and  in  the  deep  nooks  of  which  con 
tinually  glitters  the  eternal  snow ;  beneath  this,  fringed  and 
shaded  by  dark  masses  of  balsam,  fir,  and  pine.  Behind  us 
are  receding  ranges  of  hills,  streams  sparkling  like  silver 
threads,  the  trembling  foliage  of  the  quaking  aspen,  and  nar 
row  gorges  looming  like  abysses  in  the  distance.  Before  us, 
mountains  growing  lower,  till  a  strip  of  valley  relieves  the 
sight,  in  the  south-west.  This  is  the  first  glimpse  of  the 
Valley  of  the  Great  Salt  Lake.  Mormons  fall  on  their  knees 
and  pray  ;  some  shout  hosannas  and  hallelujahs  ;  many  weep  ; 
husbands  kiss  their  wives,  and  parents  their  children,  in  their 
paroxysm  of  joy,  and  the  very  faithful  declare  they  feel  the 
Spirit  of  God  pervading  the  very  atmosphere,  and  they  en 
thusiastically  declare  that  all  their  toils  are  repaid,  for  they 
have  at  length  come  home,  where  the  "  wicked  cease  from 
troubling  and  the  weary  are  at  rest."  Poor  people — poor 
deluded  people ! 

We  are  not  so  overcome,  and  prepare  to  descend  the  "  big 
mountain;"  glad  to  remember  only  18  miles  now  separate 
us  from  rest  and  society.  We  neither  break  our  necks  nor 
our  wagon  axles,  and  wind  up  a  very  pretty  "  kanyon" — a 
mountain  defile.  We  are  met  by  many  a  team  and  wagon 
crawling  up  toward  the  big  mountain,  for  fire-wood.  We 


30  SALT     LAKE     CITY. 

cross  another  mountain  ridge,  and  are  in  a  most  delightfully 
picturesque  gorge,  "  the  emigration  kanyon."  Admiring  the 
beauties  of  its  rocky  heights,  the  slopes  covered  with  shrub 
bery  and  painted  by  the  sun  in  all  sorts  of  rich  colors,  as 
though  a  rainbow  had  been  wrecked  on  the  hill  side  and  had 
left  its  beautiful  shades  on  the  grass  and  ferns  ;  forgetting 
every  thing  but  the  scene  around  us,  we  suddenly  turn  an 
abrupt  point,  and  the  valley  is  stretched  before  us.  To  our 
right  and  left  is  the  continuous  range  of  hills  from  which  we 
have  just  emerged.  We  are  on  the  rolling  brow  of  a  slight 
decline,  and  observe  that  for  several  hundred  feet  above  our 
heads,  there  are  long,  level  lines  of  ridges,  which  are  deeply 
and  evenly  indented  on  the  mountains,  as  far  as  our  sight  can 
reach.  We  notice  also  that  there  are  other  such  before  us 
till  they  form  a  narrow  flat  surface  through  which  a  river 
flows,  and  that  the  ground  rises  similarly  up  the  mountains 
before  us,  30  miles  away.  These  are  called  "benches;" 
they  extend  throughout  the  entire  range  of  valleys,  are  plainly 
visible,  exactly  level,  and  are  the  ancient  shores  of  the  Great 
Salt  Lake.  Like  a  blue  tinted  mirror  reflecting  the  sunshine, 
we  remark  the  lake  about  35  miles  to  the  north-west. 
It  is  now  about  70  miles  long,  from  north  to  south,  and  30 
miles  wide,  from  east  to  west.  It  once  filled,  and  most  prob 
ably  formed  the  entire  "  Great  Basin,"  as  it  is  termed,  extend 
ing  500  miles  from  north  to  south,  and  350  miles  from  east 
to  west,  hemmed  in  by  the  Sierra  Madre  mountains  on  the 
east,  and  the  Goose  Creek  and  Humboldt  ranges  on  the  west. 
Mountains  were  then  jagged  islands,  ravines  the  straits, 
sweeping  hollows  the  gulfs  and  shores  of  this  vast  and  silent 


SALT     LAKE     CITY.  31 

sea.  It  has  shrunk  away  to  its  present  dimensions,  and  is  the 
immense  reservoir  into  which  all  the  streams  and  rivers  of  the 
"  Basin"  pour  their  melted  snows. 

It  has  no  apparent  outlet,  although  gradually  diminishing 
apparently  more  rapidly  than  can  be  accounted  for  by  mere 
evaporation.  Many  flats  of  black  mud  with  an  incrustation 
of  dazzling  salt  crystals,  were  covered  with  water  when  the 
Mormons  first  went  there ;  and  their  flat-boat  was  pushed 
easily  over  long  stretches  of  now  baking  and  cracked  soil. 
Its  bottom  is  very  flat,  however,  and  a  very  slight  increase 
of  water  would  again  submerge  miles  of  now  exposed  sur 
face.  The  density  of  the  water  varies  necessarily  in  different 
seasons  from  the  quantities  of  fresh  water  pouring  down  into 
it.  It  averages  from  1.16  to  1.18  of  sp.  gr.  It  is  the  strong 
est  natural  brine  in  the  world,  holding  in  solution  over  22  per 
cent,  of  different  salts. 

Its  dark  sluggish  waves  forcibly  recall  the  Dead  Sea  to 
the  mind  of  the  gazer,  and  were  it  not  that  this  is  4,200  feet 
above,  and  that  lies  1,000  feet  below  the  level  of  the  ocean  ;  and 
that  this  is  completely  locked  in  by  abrupt  and  surrounding 
mountains,  while  that  rolls  over  the  "cities  of  the  plain,"  it 
would  be  easy  to  fancy  one  self  away  in  Palestine,  and  on  that 
scene  of  human  corruption  and  divine  vengeance.  The  water 
is  extremely  buoyant,  and  it  occasions  a  singular  feeling  to  be 
unable  to  sink  in,  and  very  difficult  to  swim  through  it.  Its 
water  produces  immediate  strangulation,  excessive  smarting  in 
the  eyes,  nostrils,  and  ears,  and  on  coming  out  converts  even 
negroes  into  crystallized  white  men. 

Numerous   salt  boileries  are  erected  on  the  shores ;  from 


32  SALT     LAKE     CITY. 

four  gallons  of  water  they  obtain  nearly  one  gallon  of  clear 
dry  salt.  Nature,  in  her  great  laboratory,  however,  pro 
duces  thousands  of  bushels  of  coarse  crystals,  and  deposits 
them  on  the  shore.  Teams  and  wagons  come  from  the  cities 
and  shovel  it  up,  and  it  sells  often  as  low  as  50  cents  per 
100  Ibs.  From  an  analysis  of  the  water,  made  by  Dr.  Gale, 
it  was  determined  to  contain  by  weight  22.422  per  cent,  of 
solid  substances,  in  the  proportions  of  20.196  chloride  of 
sodium,  common  salt;  1.834  of  sulphate  of  soda;  0.252  of 
chloride  of  magnesium,  and  a  trace  of  chloride  of  calcium. 

We  turn  our  eyes  from  th«  Salt  Lake  back  to  the  city, 
which  is  just  peeping  from  under  the  hill.  We  are  stopped 
by  a  mud  wall  12  feet  high,  6  feet  wide  at  the  base,  2£  feet 
on  top ;  in  front  of  it,  is  a  wide,  deep  ditch,  and  it  is  de 
fended  by  semi-bastions  at  half-musket  range.  These  are 
pierced  with  loop-holes  to  afford  a  front  and  flank  fire  in  case 
of  attack.  It  was  pretendedly  built  to  keep  out  Indians,  but 
as  it  encompasses  the  city,  which  covers  an  area  of  six  square 
miles,  all  its  male  population  could  not  thoroughly  defend  it. 
The  hills  rise  abruptly  round  it,  and  there  are  abundance  of 
eminences  where  a  rifleman  could  kill  persons  in  the  city, 
and  the  wall  be  but  as  a  thread  paper  beneath  him.  It  was 
built  in  1854  ;  its  design  was  to  give  the  people  something  to 
do,  as  to  keep  the  mind  and  hands  occupied  is  the  best  means 
to  prevent  impertinent  inquiry  and  leave  no  time  for  rebellion. 

We  enter  at  a  gate  of  the  wall,  and  are  in  the  city.  We 
remark  that  it  is  divided  into  blocks,  often  10  acres  each, 
intersected  at  right  angles  by  streets,  running  due  north  and 
south,  and  east  and  west,  130  feet  wide;  that  the  roads  in 


SALT     LAKE     CITY.  33 

them  in  wet  weather,  are  almost  impassable ;  that  there  are 
very  few  houses  in  the  suburbs,  although  they  grow  closer  to 
ward  the  center;  that  here  they  are  mud  hovels,  with  dirt 
roofs,  or  mere  log  shanties.  We  observe,  too,  that  the  side 
walks  are  20  feet  wide,  and  they  have  a  stream  of  water 
at  times  flowing  down  each  sidewalk :  that  on  some  of 
these  streams,  cotton  wood,  and  other  rapidly-growing  trees 
are  planted ;  that  the  houses  are  all  built  on  the  edges 
of  blocks,  leaving  well-cultivated  fields  and  gardens  in  the 
center.  We  notice  that  every  thing  bears  the  impress  of 
work,  and  when  one  looks  back  at  the  bleak  mountains,  and 
forward  at  the  barren  valley,  without  spontaneous  vegetation 
higher  than  a  willow  bush,  we  realize  that  it  must  have  been 
hard  work. 

There  are  about  15,000  inhabitants  at  Salt  Lake  City. 
They  consist  of  a  very  few  Americans,  and  the  large  ma 
jority  English  and  Scotch  ;  very  many  Welsh,  and  numerous 
Danes.  I  think  certainly  not  one  third  of  the  whole  would 
embrace  all  the  Americans  in  the  city,  and  not  one  fourth 
of  the  whole  in  the  entire  Territory.  These  are  principally 
from  the  western  borders  of  the  States.  They  have  all  the 
power  in  their  hands,  fill  all  the  offices,  ecclesiastical  and 
civil,  and  receive  all  the  emoluments.  They  are  almost 
without  exception  polygamists,  and  are  singularly  full  of 
prejudice,  intolerance,  and  boasted  fidelity  to  Mormonism. 

Here  we  are  at  the  Temple  Block,  in  the  center  of  the 
city.  We  have  come  up  a  street  full  of  stores.  There  are 
some  very  excellent  business  premises  here,  and  enormous 
stocks  of  merchandise  are  yearly  imported  across  the  plains, 


34  SALT     LAKE     CITY. 

in  huge  ox-drawn  wagons.  The  merchants  make  money 
very  rapidly,  profits  on  some  articles  amounting  from  150 
to  600  per  cent.  We  remark  that  all  the  stores,  etc.,  are 
built  of  adobe,  sun-dried  bricks  ;  and  from  their  slate-white 
color,  make  the  streets  very  lively  in  appearance.  On  these 
streets  there  are  some  good  houses.  A  very  pretty  house  on 
the  east  side,  was  occupied  by  the  late  J.  M.  Grant  and  his 
five  wives.  A  large  barrack-like  house  on  the  corner,  is 
tenanted  by  Ezra  T.  Benson  and  his  four  ladies.  A  large, 
but  mean-looking  house  to  the  west,  was  inhabited  by  the 
late  Parley  P.  Pratt  and  his  nine  wives.  In  that  long,  dirty 
row  of  single  rooms,  half-hidden  by  a  very  beautiful  orchard 
and  garden,  lived  J>.  Richard  and  his  eleven  wives.  Wilford 
Woodruff  and  five  wives  reside  in  another  large  house  still 
further  west.  O.  Pratt  and  some  four  or  five  wives  occupy 
an  adjacent  building.  All  these  are  "  Apostles ;"  they  are 
well  known  among  the  people,  and  their  names  are  insep 
arable  from  Mormon  history. 

Looking  toward  the  north,  we  espy  a  whole  block  covered 
with  houses,  barns,  gardens,  and  orchards.  In  these  dwell  H. 
C.  Kimball  and  his  eighteen  or  twenty  wives,  their  families, 
and  dependants.  Strange  scenes  disturb  the  serenity  of  this 
Mormon  Paradise.  Walking  toward  the  east,  we  pass  three 
or  four  low  cottages.  In  that  seraglio  D.  H.  Wells  has  some 
six  of  his  "  feminines"  installed.  Passing  these,  we  arrive  at 
Brigham's  Lion  House.  This  is  of  stone  to  the  first  story,  on 
the  ridge  of  which,  in  front,  is  a  very  excellently  sculptured 
lion,  "  resting,  but  watchful."  It  is  a  tangible  compliment  to 
Brigham,  he  being  called  "  the  Lion  of  the  Lord."  The 


S  A  LT     L  AKE     C  IT  Y.  35 

peaked  gable,  narrow  pointed  garret  windows  projecting  from 
the  steep  roof,  attract  our  notice.  That  house  is  occupied  by 
some  seventeen  or  eighteen  of  Brigham  Young's  wives  (see 
chapter  on  Brigham  at  Home).  This  house  cost  him  over 
$30,000,  and  would  have  cost  more  but  for  his  method  of 
building  it.  It  was  completed  and  ready  for  shingling  in 
1845.  The  shingles  were  ready  and  waiting.  At  a  Sunday 
meeting  in  the  Tabernacle,  Brigham  announced  that  he  had  a 
mission  for  all  the  carpenters,  and  demanded  if  they  would 
accept  it.  They  raised  their  hands,  and  were  then  coolly  com 
manded  to  "  shingle  the  Lion  House  in  the  name  of  the  Lord, 
and  by  the  authority  of  the  holy  priesthood."  So  Brigham's 
Lion  House  was  shingled,  for  although  the  carpenters  grum 
bled  still  they  obeyed.  A  range  of  neat  offices  next  please 
the  eye,  and  speak  well  of  Mormon  architectural  taste ;  and 
we  arrive  at  Brigham's  mansion.  This  is  a  large,  handsome 
adobe  building,  excellently  plastered,  and  dazzlingly  white.  It 
is  balconied  from  ground  to  roof ;  on  the  top  is  an  observa 
tory,  and  surmounting  all  is  a  bee-hive,  the  Mormon  symbol 
of  industry.  This  cost  over  $65,000,  and  is  the  best  edifice 
in  the  Territory.  It  is  occupied  by  Brigham's  senior  wife  and 
her  family.  Orchards  and  gardens  lie  behind  and  around  it. 
On  the  hill  to  our  right  is  the  "  White  House,"  formerly 
Brigham's.  This  and  its  adjoining  grounds  he  lately  sold  to 
a  rich  Englishman  for  $25,500  in  English  sovereigns,  and  pre 
sented  the  money  to  liquidate  an  old  Church  debt,  due  for 
money  borrowed  in  emigrating  the  poor  Saints  to  Salt  Lake 
City  from  Europe. 

Struck  with  the  fact  that  all  the  eligible  property  appears 


36  SALT     LAKE     CITY. 

ffto  be  in  the  hands  of  "  the  authorities,"  we  continue  our  walk 
jto  the  Social  Hall.  This  is  an  adobe  building,  73  x  33  feet. 
In  it  is  performed  dramatic  representations,  from  Shakspeare's 
tragedies  to  Colman's  farces,  by  a  company  of  unpaid  Mormon 
amateurs.  James  Ferguson,  one  of  the  stars,  says  "  they 
excel  any  thing  he  ever  saw  in  Europe."  Faith  works  won 
ders  !  In  it,  too,  Brigham  and  the  other  leaders  "  teach  the 
young  idea"  to  dance.  Cotilions,  contra-dances,  and  reels  are 
in  vogue.  They  repudiate  waltzes,  mazourkas,  schottisches, 
etc.,  because  disliking  to  see  their  wives  and  daughters  so 
"intimate  with  other  men."  A  Mormon  genius  has  invented  a 
"  double  cotilion,"  giving  two  ladies  to  each  gentleman,  some 
thing  of  which  kind  is  necessary,  too,  as  I  once  counted  over 
three  and  a  half  females  to  each  male  in  a  ball-room. 

The  Council  House,  a  two  storied  building,  45  feet  square, 
attracts  our  notice.  It  is  used  as  the  printing-office,  and  thence 
issues  the  Mormon  weekly  and  weakly  paper  called  the  "Deseret 
News."  The  Court  House,  a  large  adobe  structure,  is  pointed 
out  to  us  from  the  roof  of  this  one,  into  an  observatory  on  the 
top  of  which  we  mount  to  get  a  good  view.  The  Arsenal,  on 
the  north  hill  overlooking  the  city,  also  arrests  the  eye  in  its 
passing  glance.  On  the  north-east  corner  is  the  Tithing- 
office,  a  large  spacious  building,  with  cellars,  store-rooms,  and 
offices  attached.  Each  person  on  entering  the  Mormon 
Church  is  required  to  pay  the  tenth  part  of  his  or  her  property 
to  the  Lord's  servants  for  "  building  up  temples,  or  otherwise 
beautifying  and  adorning  Zion,  as  they  may  be  directed  from 
on  high."  Having  tithed  their  property,  they  must  tithe 
their  yearly  increase  for  the  same  purpose.  This  tenth  part 


SALT     LAKE     CITY.  37 

is  really  a  fifth  part ;  for  each  man  is  required  to  work  every 
tenth  day  on  the  Temple,  or  hire  a  substitute,  and  as  well  pay 
the  tenth  of  the  increase  on  the  other  nine  days'  labor.  It 
is  even  more  than  this  in  many  cases,  amounting  nearly  to 
fifty  per  cent.,  as  the  ladies  pay  the  tenth  part  of  their  fowls, 
then  a  tenth  part  of  the  eggs,  and  then  a  tenth  part  of  the 
chickens  that  may  be  hatched,  irrespective  of  loss.  This  law 
of  tithing,  however,  is  only  the  "  milk  of  the  gospel ;"  and 
was  the  preparative  to  a  more  rigid  system  of  property-hold 
ing.  Smith,  in  the  beginning  of  the  Church,  attempted  to 
establish  Communism,  each  giving  their  all  to  the  Bishop,  and 
only  drawing  out  of  the  office  sufficient  to  live  upon.  This, 
however,  was  not  more  practicable  for  Smith  than  for  Fourier 
or  Cabet,  and  it  was  silently  permitted  to  glide  into  the  pay 
ment  of  tithing.  In  1854,  however,  Brigham  attempted  to 
revive  the  old  law  in  an  improved  shape.  He  commanded 
the  people  to  consecrate  by  legal  transfer  all  right  and  title  to 
all  personal  property.  A  law  was  passed  through  the  Legis 
lature  making  such  transfers  strictly  valid ;  quit  claim  deeds 
were  drawn  up,  and  from  their  land  to  their  wearing  apparel, 
the  majority  of  the  people  transferred  every  thing  to  Brig- 
ham,  or  his  successor,  as  trustee  in  trust  for  the  Church  of 
Latter-day  Saints;  and  some,  in  the  exuberance  of  enthu 
siasm,  threw  in  their  wives  and  families.  The  property  of 
each  is  retained  by  each  person  only  at  the  option  of  Brigham 
Young.  He  can  eject  any  person  who  has  thus  "  conse 
crated,"  for  he  becomes  strictly  a  trespasser  by  toleration  on 
Church  property.  Each  is  permitted  to  enjoy  the  fruits  of 
his  labors  on  condition  of  his  paying  a  net  tithe  for  immediate 


.38  SALT     LAKE     CITY. 

purposes,  and  to  be  ready  to  give  up  ALL  should  it  be  required 
in  any  emergency.  Thus  in  fact  Brighara  is  the  positive 
owner  of  almost  all  the  property  in  the  Territory,  and  is  one 
of  the  wealthiest  men  in  the  world,  holding  all  at  his  uncon 
ditioned  will. 

He  frankly  stated  the  object  of  this  policy  at  the  confer 
ence.  It  was  to  prevent  Gentiles  from  purchasing  any 
property  without  ecclesiastical  sanction  ;  to  hinder  departing 
apostates  from  taking  any  property  from  the  Territory ;  to 
make  it  the  interest  of  every  man  to  be  submissive,  and  thus 
to  more  completely  rule  the  people.  Said  he,  "  Men  love 
riches,  and  can't  leave  without  means ;  now,  if  you  tie  up  the 
calf  the  cow  will  stay"  Some  distressing  circumstances  have 
already  resulted  from  the  operation  of  this  law.  Brigham 
was  in  earnest  at  its  devisal,  and  will  be  in  earnest  as  to  en 
forcing  its  execution.  He  thinks  of  re-establishing  Smith's 
system  of  ecclesiastical  communism  by  degrees,  and  by  using 
the  mace  of  the  priesthood,  to  drub  refractory  individuals 
into  the  practice  of  obedience.  The  tithing  contributed  by 
the  people  is  paid  to  the  employees  of  the  "  Public  Works  ;" 
and,  as  the  authorities  are  engaged  on  public  duty,  of  course 
they  have  the  first  selection,  the  tithing  clerks  posting  an 
open  account  between  them  and  the  Lord.  Favoritism  the 
most  glaring  is  exhibited  in  the  distribution  of  the  articles. 
They  pretend  to  pay  very  large  wages  to  artizans,  and  salaries 
to  the  clerks,  but  charge  equally  exorbitantly  for  articles 
paid;  and  while  the  leading  clerks,  etc.,  have  an  abund 
ance,  the  poor  artizan  is  half  starved,  half  clad,  wretchedly 
housed,  almost  insulted  on  applying  for  any  thing ;  and,  by  a 


SALT     LAKE     CITY.  39 

singular  system  of  book-keeping,  are  always  found  heavily  in 
debt,  should  they  wish  to  quit  and  find  other  employment. 
I  can  give  instances  of  these  things  by  dozens.  It  is  univer 
sally  known  at  Utah,  and  almost  universally  reproached.  I 
have  seen  many  tears,  heard  many  groans  and  curses  on 
D.  H.  Wells,  the  Superintendent  of  the  Public  Works, 
general  business  man,  third  President  of  the  Church,  and  a 
prophet,  seer,  and  revelator  forsooth,  for  the  misery  endured 
by  the  suffering  "hands."  In  some  cases  such  pretended 
balances  of  account  have  been  collected  by  law  with  mon 
strous  officers'  fees,  from  persons  who  were  disgusted  with 
Mormonism,  and  who  were  leaving  Utah. 

But  here  is  the  Temple  Block.  This  is  a  square  contain 
ing  ten  acres  ;  it  is  surrounded  by  a  ten-foot  wall,  with  four 
gates,  around  which  are  planted  some  handsome  shade-trees. 
We  enter  at  the  south  gate,  and  to  the  west  is  the  Tabernacle. 
This  is  an  adobe  structure,  126  feet  long,  and  64  feet  wide. 
It  has  the  inside  shape  of  an  elliptic  arch,  the  width  being  its 
span.  Here  Brigham  and  the  other  leaders  give  the  word 
of  the  Lord  every  Sabbath  to  the  people.  It  will  seat  over 
2,000  persons,  and  is  generally  well  attended.  They  have  an 
instrumental  band  that  plays  marches,  and  even  polkas  to 
enliven  the  feelings  of  the  people,  and  get  up  the  spirit ;  be 
sides  a  choir,  who  sing  from  original  Mormon  songs  in  the 
tnue  of  "  Old  Dan  Tucker,"  to  Bach's  chants  and  Handel's 
oratorios.  They  pretend  to  give  to  their  meetings  a  relig 
ious  form,  always  commencing  by  singing  and  prayer,  but 
discourse  on  adobe-making,  clothes-washing,  house-cleaning, 
ditch-digging,  and  other  kindred  subjects ;  advertise  letters, 


40  SALT     LAKE     CITY. 

appoint  labor  days  for  the  wards  ;  get  up  pleasure  excursions, 
organize  relief  companies  to  meet  the  arriving  emigration,  etc., 
etc.  It  is  no  more  worship  than  any  thing  else  they  do,  as 
they  open  their  theatrical  performances  with  public  prayer, 
and  dismiss  the  actors,  and  some  of  them  very  intoxicated  too, 
with  a  benediction.  This  plan  is  also  adopted  in  their  balls, 
Brigham  not  only  praying  for  a  blessing  on  the  dancing,  but 
often  stopping  the  ball  to  give  the  people  a  preachment ; 
when,  by  the  inspiration  of  dancing,  he  had  got  under  the 
influence  of  his  prophetic  afflatus. 

North  of  the  Tabernacle  is  a  frame  erection,  called  "  The 
Bowery,"  and  is  used  for  conference  meetings,  being  capable 
of  accommodating  8,000  persons.  It  is  a  singular  scene  to 
witness  it  crowded  full  of  decently  dressed  people,  and  sitting 
under  the  ringing  voice  and  fluent  "  talk "  of  Young,  the 
nonsensical  trash  of  Kimball,  the  enthusiastic  declamation  of 
Hyde,  the  calm  reasoning  of  P.  Pratt,  or  the  abstractions  of 
his  brother  Orson,  swayed  by  every  thought,  and  eagerly 
gulping  all  down  as  gospel  inspiration  to  this  wicked  age,  if 
they  did  but  know  it. 

In  the  north-west  corner  of  this  block  is  the  Endowment 
house,  where  is  administered  the  secret  ordinances  of  Mormon- 
ism  (see  chapter  on  Mormon  Mysteries).  On  the  eastern  side 
of  this  square  are  the  foundations  for  the  famous  Temple. 
They  are  now  nearly  level  with  the  ground,  and  are  16  feet 
deep,  and  as  much  wide.  They  are  of  solid  rock,  and,  with 
the  wall,  have  already  cost  over  $1,000,000,  in  material  and 
labor,  more  than  the  whole  of  the  Nauvoo  Temple  when 
complete.  The  proportions  of  the  proposed  building  are  very 


SA.Q^     • 

Temple   Buildin.p;  at   Palt  Lake    City. 


SALT     LAKE     CITY.  41 

imposing.  It  is  in  shape  a  parallelogram,  193  feet  long  from 
E.  to  W.,  and  105  feet  wide,  having  an  octagonal  tower,  40 
feet  in  diameter  on  each  corner.  The  main  building  is  to  be 
nearly  100  feet  high  to  the  ridge  of  the  roof.  It  is  intended 
to  build  it  of  cut  stone,  and  the  Mormons  for  the  last  three 
years  have  been  unsuccessfully  digging  at  a  canal  along  the 
benches  to  boat  instead  of  carting  the  stone.  Its  architect 
ure  is  symbolic  and  original.  On  some  buttresses  will  be 
representations  of  globes  in  all  positions,  on  others  the  sun  in 
its  various  phases.  On  others  Saturn,  with  its  rings  and 
satellites,  and  in  the  pompous  Mormon  style,  "  every  stone 
has  its  moral  lesson,  and  all  point  to  the  celestial  world."  Its 
entrance  will  be  on  the  east  side,  and  will  consist  of  another 
tower.  Surmounted  by  pinnacles,  it  will  "point  upward 
continually."  It  was  intended  to  build  it  of  adobe  from  the 
first  story  upward  ;  but  they  have  now  determined  on  erect 
ing  it  entirely  of  cut  stone.  It  is  going  to  be  the  chef 
d'ceuvre  of  all  human  architecture,  and  is  expected  to  survive 
the  conflagration  that  will  some  day  enwrap  the  world.  The 
accompanying  view  is  accurate,  being  the  copy  of  the  ex 
tended  drawing  at  Salt  Lake.  Its  designer,  Mr.  William 
Ward,  who  was  also  the  sculptor  of  the  Lion  on  Brigham's 
house,  has  seceded  from  the  Mormon  faith,  and  left  Utah. 
This  will  probably  occasion  some  delay  and  changes  in  its 
erection. 

All  the  ground  has  to  be  irrigated  very  extensively,  in 
order  to  produce  even  cereals.  As  the  water  privileges  are 
very  limited,  there  is  consequently  but  little  cultivated  soil, 
and  often  very  slight  crops.  Along  the  benches  there  is  a 


42  SALT     LAKE     CITY. 

strip  of  alluvion,  and  by  using  the  mountain  creeks  for  irriga 
tion,  the  people  can  avail  themselves  of  this  narrow  strip. 
Hence,  all  their  settlements  are  on  the  western  inclines  of  the 
mountain  ridges.  The  vast  portion  of  Utah  is  sandy  and 
alkaline  deserts,  dry  dust  in  summer,  impassable  swamps  in 
winter.  Much  interest  attaches  to  the  question  of  its  capa 
bility  of  sustaining  a  large  increase  of  population.  There 
are  now  about  50,000  inhabitants,  at  the  outside,  in  the  Ter 
ritory  ;  and  they  are  perhaps,  with  the  exception  of  500 
persons,  exclusively  Mormons.  Their  pursuits  are  chiefly  agri 
culture  and  stock-raising.  The  unwatered  ranges  during  the 
spring,  and  mountain  gorges  in  the  fall,  supply  excellent  pas 
ture  for  their  stock.  This  strip  of  alluvion  affords  all  their 
tillable  land.  They  have  not,  however,  sufficient  water,  even 
now,  for  irrigating  all  they  attempt  to  cultivate  ;  and  there  is 
more  quarreling  and  positive  fighting  about  the  water  than 
all  other  subjects.  With  the  assistance  of  more  engineering 
capacity  than  at  present  possessed,  however,  canals  might  be 
dug,  and  they  would  treble  the  quantity  of  available  soil  by 
affording  more  water.  One  difficulty,  however,  they  labor  un 
der,  which  can  not  be  obviated.  Timber  is  very  scarce  and  un 
come-at-able.  It  requires  two  days  for  mule  teams  to  fetch  a 
load  of  fire-wood  from  the  mountains,  and,  with  the  increased 
consumption,  grows  necessarily  daily  scarcer  and  dearer. 
Cutting  down  the  timber,  by  exposing  the  soil,  dries  up  the 
springs,  which  materially  lessens  the  creeks,  and  this  dimin 
ishes  the  water  supply,  while  the  increasing  population  de 
mands  a  greater  abundance.  This  inevitably  dries  up  the 
ground,  and  makes  stock-feed  very  scarce  and  expensive. 


SALT     LAKE     CITY.  43 

•which  augments  the  price  of  fire-wood  in  the  ratio  of  time 
and  expense.  Although  they  have  discovered  coal  in  the 
southern  portion  of  the  Territory,  the  badness  of  the  roads 
and  distance  to  Salt  Lake  City,  make  it  cost  $30  per  ton ; 
it  is  only  used  by  blacksmiths  for  forge  purposes.  The 
scarcity  of  wood  for  fuel  and  building  purposes  tries  the 
patience  and  perseverance  of  the  Saints  excessively. 

Another  disagreeable  consequence  of  thus  stripping  the 
mountains  of  their  fringes  is  painfully  felt.  While  the 
summers  are  a  continual  drought,  the  winters  have  deep 
snows  and  violent  storms.  The  trees  used  to  retain  much  on 
the  hills,  which,  melting  gradually  in  the  spring,  produced 
full  creeks.  It  is  now  blown  in  clouds  into  the  valleys,  bury 
ing  up  feed  and  killing  off  stock  frightfully.  Hence  it  is  that 
at  every  succeeding  winter  they  have  increasingly  deep  snow. 
In  that  of  1854-'55,  many  thousands  of  animals  perished  with 
hunger  and  frost,  the  snow  being  four  to  six  feet  deep.  It  was 
naturally  followed  by  very  little  water  in  the  streams  in  the 
spring,  because  the  snow  had  been  deposited  in  the  valleys  in 
stead  of  on  the  mountains.  Last  winter  the  snow  was  still 
deeper,  and  this  spring  there  is  still  less  water  in  the  creeks. 
Add  to  this,  for  the  last  three  seasons  the  crops  have  been 
eaten  up  by  grasshoppers  and  blue  worms,  or  filled  with  smut. 
The  harvests  have  been  light,  and  many  starving  persons  were 
compelled  to  subsist  on  wild  roots  during  the  winter.  The 
future  promises  nothing  better ;  but  with  the  continual  influx 
of  population,  they  must  either  constantly  find  new  valleys  to 
settle,  or  starvation  and  removal  will  be  inevitable.  The 
Mormons,  in  selecting  Salt  Lake,  chose  it  as  a  place  where  no 


44  SALT     LAKE     CITY. 

others  would  wish  to  come  ;  and  where  no  others  would  re 
main  if  they  did  come.  Their  desire  was  only  to  get  out  of 
the  world :  for  their  object,  their  selection  was  good.  They 
have  fiercely  battled  with  obstacles  thus  far  in  their  strife  with 
nature.  I  think  that  even  Mormon  energy  and  hardihood 
will  not  be  able  to  maintain  the  unequal  combat  much  longer. 
A  few  more  seasons  such  as  their  last  three  will  effectually 
starve  them  out ;  and  to  judge  physical  probabilities  by  ap 
pearances,  there  is  little  else  before  them. 

The  Mormons  are  an  extremely  industrious  people.  Re 
membering  the  short  length  of  time  they  have  been  at  Utah, 
their  utter  poverty  when  they  arrived,  their  many  diffi 
culties  since,  and  then  viewing  their  present  condition,  all 
must  admit  their  steady  industry.  They  have  various  manu 
factories.  Wool-carding  machines,  cloth  and  blanket  fac 
tories,  tanneries,  a  pottery  for  coarse  brown-ware,  machine- 
shops,  iron  and  brass  founderies,  beside  all  the  ordinary  avo 
cations.  In  1853  they  brought  some  machinery  for  the 
manufacture  of  sugar  from  beet-root.  It  is  now  in  the  hands 
of  the  Church.  They  have  not  yet  been  able  to  produce  any 
sugar,  through  incompetent  management;  for  in  Utah  as 
elsewhere,  personal  friendship,  far  more  than  proper  capacity, 
induces  many  appointments,  and  principal  of  the  sugar  works 
is  not  an  exception  from  the  general  rule.  The  whole  affair 
has  almost  been  useless,  except  to  afford  the  Saints  something 
to  boast  about.  I  forgot,  however,  one  very  important  opera 
tion  it  produced.  In  1854  some  hundreds  of  gallons  of  syrup 
were  spoiled  by  the  charcoal  through  which  they  were  en 
deavoring  to  refine  it.  It  was,  of  course,  very  wicked,  accord- 


SALT     LAKE     CITY.  45 

ing  to  Mormon  economy,  to  destroy  so  much  property.  A 
luminous  thought  struck  Brigham  in  1856.  It  could  not  be 
converted  into  sugar,  it  could  not  be  used  as  molasses,  he 
would  distill  it  into  RUM.  Accordingly,  this  bad  molasses  was 
converted  into  worse  liquor  ;  and,  after  coloring  it  with  burnt 
sugar  and  flavoring  it  with  green  tea,  the  delicious  compound 
was  sold  by  Brigham's  adopted  son,  W.  C.  Staines,  at  the 
very  reasonable  price  of  eight  dollars  per  gallon.  By  this  in 
genious  operation  quite  a  little  sum  was  clearly  gained,  and  it 
was  slyly  hinted  that  the  proceeds  were  expended  in  helping 
to  build  the  Temple.  If  it  be  true,  and  I  confess  I  doubt  it, 
it  was  cementing  the  walls  of  the  Lord's  house  with  human 
drunkenness  and  human  degradation ! 

Nor  was  this  by  any  means  the  only  distillery  in  Salt  Lake 
City,  although,  in  order  that  the  Church  might  regulate  such 
matters,  and  perhaps  to  prevent  competition,  all  the  other  dis 
tilleries  were  prohibited  from  making  any  liquor  during  the 
above  saintly  speculation.  A  Dr.  Clinton  had  a  distillery 
producing  the  most  infamous  decoction  of  wheat.  He  was 
sent  on  a  mission,  and  the  Church  purchased  his  distillery 
from  his  wives  for  its  own  private  working.  A  Hugh  Moon 
has  quite  an  extensive  one  in  operation  at  Salt  Lake.  During 
the  life  of  Dr.  Richards,  a  prophet,  seer,  revelator,  and  editor, 
his  little  cart  used  to  make  daily  visits  to  Moon's  distillery, 
and  take  thence  from  a  quart  to  a  gallon  of  liquor ;  and  J.  D. 
Ross,  now  preaching  in  England,  was  sent  away  from  Salt 
Lake  as  a  missionary,  almost  entirely  because  he  was  over 
bold  in  asserting  that  Moon  made  the  spirit  that  inspired  the 
leaders  in  the  "  Deseret  News."  There  is  also  another  distillery 


46  SALT     LAKE     CITY. 

in  the  city,  and  several  in  other  parts  of  the  Territory. 
Brigham  has  a  city  named  after  himself,  on  Box-elder  creek, 
sixty  miles  north  of  Salt  Lake  City.  Even  in  this  holy  place, 
a  man  named  Clarke  produces  a  liquid  he  calls  and  the 
people  buy  for  whisky.  At  Ogden  City  there  is  another  such 
distillery  ;  another  at  Provo,  and  so  on  throughout  the  whole 
Territory.  Added  to  the  hogsheads  of  wash  produced  at  these 
Mormon  factories,  each  of  the  merchants  imports  hundreds  of 
gallons  every  year,  and,  as  a  general  rule,  although  not  arriv 
ing  till  June,  all  is  sold  out  by  Christmas.  Besides  these, 
there  were  seven  breweries  in  active  operation  at  Salt  Lake 
alone  ;  and  hundreds  of  gallons  of  something  called  beer  was 
consumed  weekly.  Of  course,  the  other  cities  of  Utah  could 
not  be  behind  their  elder  brother  of  Salt  Lake  in  the  neces 
sity  that  demanded,  or  in  the  skill  that  supplied  these  delect 
able  compounds  ;  and  "  cakes  and  beer"  stared  us  full  in  the 
face,  go  wherever  we  might,  through  the  cities  of  the  Saints. 

The  Church,  however,  has  several  times  endeavored  to  pre 
vent  the  sale  of  these  things.  Stringent  city  ordinances  were 
passed  by  the  Council,  prohibiting  all  sale  except  by  order  of 
the  mayor.  Still  all  who  so  applied  succeeded  in  obtaining 
these  orders,  and  all  who  could  make,  made ;  and  all  who 
had,  sold.  In  1854,  that  was  attempted,  but  the  "  Church" 
getting  out  of  supplies,  the  ban  was  taken  off  from  Moon's 
distillery  and  he  produced  some  "  just  for  the  Church."  In 
1855,  it  was  again  resuscitated,  preached  about,  and  enforced. 
Several  poor  brewers  were  fined,  their  utensils  destroyed, 
themselves  threatened,  etc.,  etc.  A.  Mr.  Nixon  boldly  said 
that  it  was  a  shame  to  punish  the  poor  beer  makers  only, 


SALT     LAKE     CITY.  47 

when  there  were  far  more  important  men  equally  transgress 
ing  ;  for  which  manly  and  honorable  speech  he  was  mulcted 
in  fine  to  a  considerable  amount.  Messrs.  Williams  &  Hoop 
er,  an  extensive  business  firm,  had  a  large  quantity  of  liquors 
the  same  season,  and  they  obediently  refused  to  sell  any,  but 
as  it  would  have  much  afflicted  the  authorities  to  have  so 
much  money  lost,  Brigham  got  possession  of  it  for  a  mere 
trifle,  and  himself  and  his  adopted  son,  W.  C.  Staines,  entered 
into  partnership.  Staines  took  the  liquor  home  and  sold  it 
very  discreetly.  They,  however,  watered  it  down  till  it  was 
very  weak  and  charged  a  very  high  price  for  it,  so  that  it  was 
difficult  for  the  people  to  purchase  it  and  almost  useless,  for 
intoxicating  purposes,  when  they  did  obtain  it,  and  thus  they 
appeased  their  consciences.  Of  course,  some  unbelievers  dared 
to  suggest  that  this  was  profitable  as  well  as  expedient,  and 
were  astonished  the  city  ordinances  about  sale  of  liquor  were 
not  enforced  in  their  case.  Perhaps  the  evil  did  not  last  long 
enough,  for,  although  watery,  weak,  expensive,  and  only  to  be 
bought  with  cash,  it  was  all  sold  in  an  incredible  short  space 
of  time.  A  similarly  discreet  disposition  was  made  in  another 
case  of  some  more  liquor.  Its  owners  were  forbidden  selling 
it,  but  the  Church  made  the  purchase  of  it,  early  in  1856,  and 
Joseph  Kaine,  one  of  Brigham's  pets,  was  permitted  to  vend 
it.  Some  scandalous  persons  said  that  water  came  in  at  the 
back,  as  fast  as  liquor  went  out  of  the  front  door ;  and  hinted 
that  the  liquor  was  only  a  little  less  inebriating  by  passing 
through  the  saintly  hands  of  Mr.  Kaine,  but  the  money  was 
in  Church  coffers,  and  that  made  all  the  difference. 

There  are  vast  mineral  resources  in  Utah,  which,  had  the 


48  SALT     LAKE     CITY. 

Mormons  more  skill,  might  be  made  productive  of  great 
wealth.  Two  hundred  miles  south  of  the  city  is  Iron  county. 
Iron  in  almost  inexhaustible  quantities,  together  with  abun 
dant  coal,  is  found  there.  The  Mormons  have  been  long  labor 
ing  to  get  up  furnaces,  but  want  of  correct  chemical  informa 
tion  has  much  retarded  their  progress.  Should  the  great 
Pacific  railroad  pass  through  or  near  Salt  Lake,  iron  and  coal 
for  a  third  of  the  route  might  be  obtained  there.  Among 
other  minerals,  they  have  found  silver,  at  Los  Vegas,  and  some 
lead.  It  is  said  that  the  Church  know  where  there  is  gold, 
near  the  Valley,  although  I  am  disinclined  to  believe  it. 
They  have  vast  quantities  of  sulphur,  alum,  borax,  and  sale- 
ratus.  They  have  laid  down  saltpetre-beds  and  have  com 
menced  the  manufacture  of  gunpowder.  Swords,  Colt's  re 
volvers,  rifles,  lances,  and  guns  are  made  in  great  abundance, 
and  every  man  is  compelled  to  have  a  weapon,  to  be  well 
supplied  with  ammunition,  to  enlist  in  a  military  company, 
and  regularly  drill. 

There  are  some  very  singular  springs  in  Utah  Territory ; 
chalybeate,  sulphur,  salt ;  boiling  hot,  and  very  cold ;  deep 
sink  holes,  rivers  losing  themselves  in  the  sand,  small  cataracts, 
remarkable  rocks,  and  other  natural  curiosities.  The  atmos 
phere  is  astonishingly  clear.  Optical  illusions  are  very  re 
markable,  and  often  lead  to  ridiculous  mistakes.  Mirages 
and  deceptive  distances  puzzle  many  a  new  comer. 

It  is  reported  by  the  Mormons  that  there  are  over  76,000 
inhabitants  in  the  Territory.  This  I  know  to  be  a  palpable 
falsehood.  Cache  valley,  with  only  a  dozen  Church  herds 
men,  at  most,  is  given  a  census  population  of  over  700  per- 


SALT     LAKE     CITY.  49 

sons.  They  named  the  oxen  and  cows.  In  Battle  creek 
returns  they  report  many  whom  I  know  to  be  dead,  some  who 
died  before  leaving  England,  many  who  are  still  in  England, 
but  who  purpose  coming  to  Utah  when  they  can  ;  ancl,  in  some 
cases,  all  the  children  that  courting  couples  might  expect  to 
have,  if  they  were  married,  and  if  they  should  have  offspring  ; 
and  all  that  old  married  people  ought  to  have  had  in  the  es* 
timation  of  the  census  agents.  These  outrageous  falsehoods 
were  sworn  to  by  the  different  agents.  The  object  of  the 
whole  affair  was  to  present  a  more  imposing  appearance  at 
Congress  on  demanding  admission  into  the  Union  as  an  in 
dependent  State.  They  publicly  defend  lying  for  expediency, 
believing  the  end  justifies  the  means.  To  be  unwilling  to 
approve  such  "  evil  that  good  may  come,"  is  to  them  a  sign 
of  sectarianism,  and  Gentilish.  This  practice  they  pursued 
with  regard  to  polygamy  for  fourteen  years,  and  with  regard 
to  other  dogmas  they  still  pursue  it,  contending  there  is  no 
evil,  per  se,  and  that  the  intention  of  the  act  and  its  results 
only  determine  its  goodness.  How  much  reliance  can  be  placed 
on  the  statements  of  such  men,  is  evident,  when  mental  re 
servation  is  advocated  ;  equivocal  expressions  constantly  being 
employed  in  all  their  preaching ;  they  intending  to  convey 
an  erroneous  impression  by  the  use  of  terms,  that,  strictly 
construed,  are  not  in  themselves  a  lie.  Jesuit  casuistry  is  not 
more  ingenious  in  the  "deceiving  by  truth"  than  are  some  of 
the  Mormon  Elders  ;  but  who  knows  not  that  the  most  out 
rageous  falsehoods  can  be  communicated,  and  yet  the  words 
in  a  different  sense  be  true  ? 

The  Mormons  have  labored  diligently,  and  are  therefore 
3 


50  SALT     LAKE     CITY. 

prosperous.  It  is  the  only  policy  by  which  they  could  be 
kept  together,  and  be  made  contented  and  happy.  When 
they  begin  to  feel  less  contented,  and  less  happy,  Brigham 
only  makes  them  work  all  the  harder.  To  give  no  time  for 
thought  prevents  thought ;  and  by  making  them  merry  when 
not  laboring,  helps  them  to  make  them  satisfied.  Hence,  the 
Mormons  are  a  jovial  people,  hospitable,  dance  and  song,  and 
dram-loving.  Their  kindness  to  strangers,  their  general  affec 
tion  for  each  other,  their  devoted  obedience  to  the  authorities, 
their  bitter  animosity  to  all  Gentiles,  their  rigid  adherence  to 
ceremonies,  their  lax  code  of  morals,  and  yet  precise  restriction 
to  that  established  code,  arrests  the  attention  of  all  observers. 
One  thing  must  be  also  remarked.  There  is  less  public 
drunkenness,  no  houses  of  ill  fame,  no  public  bad  women,  less 
monstrous  crime  among  the  Mormons  than  in  any  other  com 
munity  of  equal  size.  These  are  the  inevitable  results  of  their 
system,  as  will  be  shown.  They  were  far  worse  at  Nauvoo 
than  they  are  at  Salt  Lake,  were  worse  at  Missouri  than 
at  Nauvoo ;  but  compared  with  another  deluded,  isolated 
sect,  the  Shakers,  they  are  far  inferior  in  every  thing  good. 
The  Mormon  community  must  not  be  compared  with  any 
irreligious  community ;  composed  exclusively  of  Saints,  up  to 
the  standard  of  their  own  selection  and  boasting  must  they  be 
brought.  Their  crimes  and  their  degradation  assume  other 
shapes  and  hues  than  that  of  the  rest  of  the  world.  Their 
sins  are  toned  with  the  peculiarities  of  their  religion.  They 
are  essentially  Mormonic,  but  while  vaunting  the  absence  of 
other  atrocious  species  of  crime  from  among  them,  they 
must  be  reminded  of  the  flagrance  of  their  own. 


CHAPTER   III. 

PRACTICAL      POLYGAMY. 

Family  arrangements — Favorites — The  men — Domestic  happiness — 
Sleeping  alone — Making  tabernacles — Mormon  salvation — "Wife  hunt 
ing — Mothers  and  daughters  married  to  one  man — Half  sister — The 
women — First  wives — Whisky — Termagents — Adultery — Jealousy — 
Fanaticism — Brigham  on  connubialities — Single  girls — Proportion  of 
the  sexes — Arguments  used  to  induce  young  girls  to  marry  poly- 
gamists  in  preference  to  young  men — Why  they  do  not  leave — The 
children — Mortality — Barrenness — Boys — Girls — Early  marriages — 
Divorce — Mrs.  M'Lean  and  Parley  Pratt — Mrs.  Cobb  and  Brigham 
Young — Utah  marriages. 

THE  only  correct  method  of  judging  a  cause,  is  by  the 
effects  that  result  from  its  operation.  The  most  confounding 
argument  against  the  Mormon  doctrine  of  polygamy,  is  the 
Mormon  practice  of  polygamy.  The  Mormons  ever  en 
deavor  to  conceal  the  real  workings  of  their  system  from 
outside  inspection.  They  must  feel  great  confidence  before 
allowing  any  one  to  grow  intimate.  One  must  be  very  inti 
mate,  before  being  competent  to  correctly  describe  their 
"  family  arrangements." 

The  intention  of  marriage  was  to  increase  personal  hap 
piness,  to  propagate  a  healthy  offspring,  and  to  secure  to  those 
children  protectors,  instructors,  and  support.  What  are  the 
effects  of  polygamy  on  these  objects  ? 


52  PRACTICAL     POLYGAMY. 

The  Mormon  polygamist  has  no  HOME.  Some  have  their 
wives  lotted  off  by  pairs  in  small  disconnected  houses,  like  a 
row  of  out-houses.  Some  have  long  low  houses,  and  on 
taking  a  new  wife  build  a  new  room  on  to  them,  so  that 
their  rooms  look  like  rows  of  stalls  in  a  cow-barn !  Some 
have  but  one  house  and  crowd  them  all  together,  outraging 
all  decency,  and  not  leaving  even  an  affectation  of  con- 
Venience.  Many  often  remain  thus,  until  some  petty  strife 
about  division  of  labor,  children's  quarrels,  difference  of 
taste,  or  jealousy  of  attention  kindles  a  flame,  only  to  be 
smothered  by  separation.  When  they  live  in  different 
houses,  they  generally  have  different  tables,  and  the  husband 
has  to  give  each  house  its  turn  to  cook  for  him,  and  honor 
their  tables  with  his  presence  in  rotation.  The  evenings  at 
his  disposal,  his  constant  distribution  of  himself  among  them, 
has  to  be  by  rule.  Jealousies  the  most  bitter,  reproaches  the 
most  galling  and  disgusting,  scenes  without  number,  and 
acrimony  without  end,  are  the  inevitable  consequences  of  the 
slightest  partiality.  It  is  impossible  for  any  man  to  equally 
love  several  different  women  ;  it  is  quite  possible,  however, 
for  him  to  be  equally  indifferent  about  any  number.  The 
nature  most  in  unison  with  his  own,  will  most  attract  him. 
The  most  affectionate  will  be  certainly  preferred  to  the 
least  affectionate.  I  am  acquainted  with  scores  of  polygamists, 
and  they  all  have  favorites,  and  show  partiality.  To  feel 
partiality,  and  not  to  exhibit  it,  is  unnatural.  To  exhibit  it, 
and  for  it  to  pass  unnoticed  by  a  jealous  women,  is  impossi 
ble.  For  it  to  be  noticed,  is  for  it  to  be  reproached. 

The  Mormon  polygamist,  therefore,  has  to  maintain  a  con- 


PRACTICAL     POLYGAMY.  53 

slant  guard  over  himself.  Any  husband  might  feel  to  kiss 
his  wife  gladly  :  to  go  round  a  table  and  kiss  half  a  dozen,  is 
no  joke.  It  is  so  in  every  thing  with  him;  With  a  dozen 
eyes  to  notice  at  what  time  he  retires  to  rest,  or  arises  on 
any  one  occasion,  and  half  a  dozen  mouths  to  talk  about  it,  he 
must  be  perfectly  governed  by  rule.  Every  look,  every  word, 
every  action  has  to  be  weighed,  or  else  there  is  jealousy, 
vituperation,  quarreling,  bitterness.  For  this  reason,  the 
idea  of  obtaining  domestic  felicity  is  ridiculed.  Brigham 
is  the  model,  and  he  to  some  extent  adopts  the  dogma  of 
the  Quietists,  "  Repose  is  the  only  perfect  happiness."  He 
acts  as  though  he  felt,  and  wished  others  to  feel,  that  man 
was  the  frigid  master,  performing  every  act  of  kindness,  not 
as  springing  from  his  heart,  but  because  he  had  reasoned  it 
out,  to  be  an  act  of  duty.  Warmth  of  feelings,  tenderness 
of  attachment,  devotedness  of  attention  to  a  woman,  is  there 
called,  by  that  worst  of  Mormon  epithets,  "  Gentilish."  "  Man 
must  value  his  wife  no  more  than  any  thing  else  he  has  got 
committed  to  him,  and  be  ready  to  give  her  up  at  any  time 
the  Lord  calls  him,"  said  Brigham  one  Sunday  afternoon ; 
and  J.  M.  Grant  followed  the  remark  by  saying,  "  If  God, 
through  his  prophet,  wants  to  give  my  women  to  any  more 
worthy  man  than  I  am,  there  they  are  on  the  altar  of 
sacrifice ;  he  can  have  them,  and  do  what  he  pleases  with 
them!" 

They  carry  this  same  coldness  of  affection  into  all  their 
connubial  relations.  Brigham  always  sleeps  by  himself,  in  a 
little  chamber  behind  his  office.  I  have  heard  the  leading 
men  publicly  advocate  the  adoption  of  this  practice.  They 


54  PRACTICAL    POLYGAMY. 

quote  the  animals  as  an  argument  in  favor  of  polygamy,  and 
adopt  their  instincts  as  models  for  practice.  Marriage  is 
stripped  of  every  sentiment  that  makes  it  holy,  innocent,  and 
pure.  With  them  it  is  nothing  more  than  the  means  of  ob 
taining  families ;  and  children  are  only  desired  as  a  means 
of  increasing  glory  in  the  next  world ;  for  they  believe  that 
every  man  will  reign  over  his  children,  who  will  constitute 
his  "  kingdom  ;"  and,  therefore,  the  more  children,  the  more 
glory!  Said  Brigham,  September  20th,  1856,  speaking  on 
this  subject : 

"  It  is  the  duty  of  every  righteous  man  and  every  woman  to 
prepare  tabernacles  for  all  the  spirits  they  can  ;  hence  if  my 
women  leave,  I  will  go  and  search  up  others  who  will  abide 
the  celestial  law,  and  let  all  I  now  have  go  where  they 
please ;  though  I  will  send  the  gospel  to  them." — Deseret 
News,  October  1,  1856. 

Marriage,  consequently,  is  only  an  addition  to  man's  mon 
ster  selfishness.  Not  only  do  they  admit,  but  they  even  advo 
cate  openly,  that  salvation  is  altogether  a  selfish  matter  ;  and 
Lorenzo  Snow,  an  Apostle  (!)  publicly  contended  that  "  God 
was  the  most  intensely  selfish  being  in  existence."  To  sacri 
fice  one's  self,  to  the  most  trivial  extent,  for  a  wife,  is  therefore 
esteemed  as  beneath  manly  dignity.  To  love  home,  or  seek 
to  make  it  your  rest  and  heaven,  is  called  "  squeamishness  ;" 
and  men  bedin  your  ears  to  "  take  another  wife,  and  that  will 
cure  you,"  and  they  are  right.  The  first  effect  of  polygamy 
on  the  Mormons  was  to  force  them  to  deny  the  doctrine,  and 
disavow  their  families.  For  many  years  after  they  practiced 
it,  did  the  leading  men  indignantly  deny  it.  Its  next  effect 


PRACTICAL      POLYGAMY.  65 

was  to  make  them  heartless.  It  first  made  them  liars,  and 
then  brutes ! 

"  If  it  does  not  increase  their  happiness,  and  it  certainly 
does  their  care  and  expense,  why  practice  it  2"  Mormonism 
teaches  that  all  salvation  is  material ;  that  men's  positions 
here  determine  their  stations  hereafter,  and  as  a  man  can  only 
rule  over  his  family,  then,  no  wife,  no  family ;  many  wives, 
much  family ;  much  family,  much  glory ;  therefore,  many 
wives,  much  glory,  and  as  the  selfish  desire  for  glory  is  the 
only  incentive  of  Mormon  action,  so,  therefore,  he  tries  to  get 
as  many  wives  as  he  can.  They  quote  Paul's  words,  "Woman 
is  the  glory  of  man,"  and  argue,  the  more  women,  the  more 
glory ;  no  women,  no  glory  at  all !  Full  of  this  thought,  I 
have  seen  old  men  with  white  hair  and  wrinkled  faces,  go 
hunting  after  young  girls,  deceiving  them  with  all  sorts  of 
professions  and  promises,  using  the  terrors  of  Brigham's  name 
and  threatening  the  penalty  of  excommunication  and  conse 
quent  perdition,  in  order  to  induce  them  to  marry  them,  and 
then  to  leave  them,  despoiled  and  degraded,  either  to  the 
obloquy  of  a  divorce,  or  to  the  incurable  sorrows  of  a  grieved 
and  a  wrung  heart.  I  could  mention  the  names  of  a  dozen 
such,  who  ought  to  be  thinking  of  God  and  their  graves,  who 
instead,  visit  arriving  trains  and  pester  the  girls  with  all  the 
ardor  and  far  more  impudence  than  the  young  men. 

The  utmost  latitude  of  choice  is  permitted  to  the  faithful, 
in  their  selection  of  wives.  It  is  very  common  for  one  man 
to  marry  two  sisters ;  Brigham  advises,  indeed,  that  they 
both  be  married  on  the  same  day,  "  for  that  will  prevent  any 
quarreling  about  who  is  first  or  second !"  A  R.  Sharkey  has 


56  PRACTICAL    POLYGAMY. 

married  three  sisters,  one  of  whom  was  married  to,  and  di 
vorced  from  another  man.  A  George  B.  Wallace  left  a  wife 
at  Salt  Lake  and  went  to  England  to  preach.  He  made  the 
acquaintance  of  a  very  worthy  man  named  Davis,  who  had 
three  fine-looking  girls.  Mr.  Davis  and  family  were  per 
suaded  to  embrace  Mormonism.  When  Wallace  returned,  as 
he  occupied  a  high  position  in  the  Mormon  Church,  he  appro 
priated  Church  moneys  for  the  emigration  of  Mr.  Davis  and 
family  to  Salt  Lake  City.  Poor,  and  under  obligation  to  this 
man,  and,  by  "  counsel"  of  Brigham,  Davis  gave  him  his  three 
daughters,  to  all  of  whom  he  was  married  ;  and,  when  I  arrived 
at  Salt  Lake,  were  all  living  with  Mrs.  Wallace,  proper,  in  a 
little  two-roomed  house.  Wallace  kept  a  butcher's  shop,  and 
it  was  currently  reported  that  he  was  engaged  with  others 
stealing  cattle  and  selling  the  meat  on  his  premises.  A  Cur 
tis  E.  Bolton  is  married  to  a  woman  and  her  daughter.  A 
Captain  Brown  is  married  to  a  woman  and  two  daughters 
and  lives  with  them  all.  When  their  children's  children  are 
born  it  will  be  bewildering  to  trace  out  their  exact  degrees  of 
relationship. 

This  may  appear  disgusting  enough,  and  prove  degradation 
enough.  A  G.  D.  Watt  has  excelled  either  of  them.  He 
brought  from  Scotland  his  half  sister  to  Salt  Lake  City  :  took 
her  to  Brigham,  and  wished  to  be  married  to  her  for  his 
second  wife.  Brigham  objected,  but  Watt  urged  that  Abra 
ham  took  his  half  sister  and  "  reckoned  he  had  just  as  much 
right  as  Abraham."  The  point  was  knotty  and  difficult.  If 
Abraham's  example  justified  polygamy  then  it  must  equally 
iustify  this  action.  "  God  blessed  Abraham  although  he  did 


PRACTICAL     POLYGAMY.  67 

it,"  say  the  Mormons,  "  and  ought  to  bless  me  if  I  do  it  too." 
The  girl  happened  to  be  good-looking,  though,  and  so,  to  cut 
this  gordian  knot  he  could  not  untie,  Biigham  took  her  him 
self.  So  far  so  well.  But  she  was  not  contented,  or  Brig- 
ham  had  reconsidered-  the  matter,  or  from  some  cause,  after  a 
few  weeks  he  told  Watt  that,  after  all,  there  was  force  in  his 
argument,  that  it  was  just  as  lawful  in  him  as  in  Abraham, 
and,  accordingly,  G.  D.  Watt  accepted  his  half  sister  to  wife 
from  the  arms  of  Brother  Brigham !  This  piece  of  complai 
sance  recommended  him  to  the  favorable  attention  of  the 
"  authorities ;"  as  a  good  illustration  of  the  childlike  sim 
plicity  and  implicit  obedience  of  which  they  so  constantly 
preach. 

What  the  brutalizing  effects  of  such  marriages  are  on  the 
men's  minds,  can  easily  be  conceived.  With  small  houses 
and  several  wives,  more  than  one  often  sleeping  in  each  apart 
ment,  men  must  soon  lose  all  decency  or  self-respect,  and  de 
generate  into  gross  and  disgusting  animals.  Many  of  them 
frequently  sleep  with  two  of  their  wives  in  the  same  bed. 
Indeed  so  evident  are  the  effects,  that  Heber  C.  Kimball  does 
not  scruple  to  speak  of  his  wives,  on  a  Sabbath,  in  the  Taber 
nacle,  and  before  an  audience  of  over  two  thousand  persons,  as 
"  my  cows ! !"  This  he  has  done  on  more  than  one  occasion 
and  the  people  laughed  at  him  as  at 

"  A  feUow  of  infinite  jest." 

As  the  Mormons  are  taught  to  believe  that  all  their  honor 
and  "  glory"  in  the  kingdom  of  God,  depends  on  the  number 
of  their  wives,  all  their  anxiety  is,  therefore,  to  obtain  a  large 

3* 


58  PRACTICAL     POLYGAMY. 

number.  Irrespective  of  their  ability  to  provide,  careless  too 
about  any  incongruity  in  disposition,  careless  about  every 
thing  but  obtaining  them,  they  spend  their  time  in  courting. 
If  they  be  poor,  it  is  expected  that  the  woman  ought  to  be 
able  to  do  enough  to  support  herself.  If  their  temper  be 
incongruous,  the  Mormons  boast  "  great  powers  of  govern 
ment,"  and  expect  to  "  break  them  in,  like  horses,  to  the  har 
ness."  This  last  is  a  common  and  favorite  expression  among 
them. 

Whether  they  are  on  missions,  away  from  their  wives,  or 
present  with  them,  their  care  is  to  induce  more  girls  to  marry 
them.  Many  do  not  do  this  at  Salt  Lake,  but  their  faith  is 
considered  weak ;  for  unless  they  entangle  themselves  inex 
tricably,  so  that  the  interests  of  Mormonism  become  neces 
sarily  their  interests,  but  little  attention,  and  no  honor  is  paid 
them.  As  future  salvation  is  made  to  depend  on  the  size  of 
the  family,  almost  all  present  reputation  is  made  to  depend  on 
the  same  cause. 

Such  are  the  results  of  this  practice  on  the  men.  What  are 
its  effects  on  the  women  ? 

The  females  are  divided  into  two  classes,  first  wives,  and 
those  taken  subsequently.  We  will  view  them  separately. 

I  will  narrate  a  few  instances  as  to  the  first  wives.  I  in 
tend  mentioning  names,  not  only  to  convince  the  reader  of 
the  correctness  of  my  statements,  but  because  I  think  men 
who  act  thus  ought  to  be  named  and  known.  Mrs.  S.  W. 
Richards  is  an  interesting  and  intelligent  lady  at  Salt  Lake 
City.  She  accompanied  her  husband  among  the  early  emi 
grants.  In  1852,  he  went  to  England  as  a  Mormon  mission- 


PRACTICAL     POLYGAMY.  59 

ary,  and  was  absent  several  years.  During  his  absence,  in 
the  love  of  her  husband,  she  labored  for  her  own  support  and 
that  of  his  children.  He  returned,  and  to  prove  to  her  his 
appreciation  of  her  fidelity  and  affection,  he  took  three  other 
wives  !  One  was  his  cousin  and  a  mere  girl ;  and  one  was  a 
lady  who  ran  away  from  the  arms  and  heart  of  her  father,  in 
Liverpool,  and  whose  attentions,  during  his  stay  in  that  city, 
had  often  consoled  him  for  his  absence  from  home.  Mr. 
Richards  took  his  wife  round  to  her  share  of  the  balls, 
theaters,  and  other  amusements;  but  no  one  could  help  re 
marking,  in  the  wasted  and  sallow  wreck  of  a  woman,  all  the 
withering  effects  of  an  anguished  heart,  wounded  in  its  keen 
est  susceptibility,  aiid  sinking  unloved,  unpitied,  and  with  its 
griefs  untold. 

"  She  never  told  her  grief, 
But  let  concealment,  h'ke  a  worm  i'  the  bud, 
Feed  on  her  damask  cheek." 

Mr.  G.  P.  Dykes  accompanied  the  Mormon  Battalion  to 
Mexico,  leaving  his  family  at  Council  Bluffs,  Iowa.  On  re 
turning  through  Salt  Lake,  he  was  appointed  to  go  to  Europe 
as  a  missionary,  which  he  did.  During  his  residence  in 
Europe,  Mrs.  Dykes  and  family  toiled  their  way  to  Salt  Lake, 
so  as  not  to  be  burdensome  on  her  husband  on  his  return. 
They  sustained  themselves,  and  made  some  little  provision  for 
the  future,  hoping  and  expecting  to  welcome  him  on  his  com 
ing  home.  He  returned,  accompanied  by  a  lady  who  had 
run  away  from  her  husband  in  England.  He  was  marrjed  to 
this  person  at  Council  Bluffs  City,  and  amid  the  first  greetings 


00  PRACTICAL     POLYGAMY. 

between  himself  and  his  first  wife,  at  Salt  Lake  City,  was,  of 
course,  an  introduction  to  the  woman  who  had  supplanted 
her  in  his  affections !  The  first  wife  was  neglected,  till  her 
wrung  heart  demanded  a  divorce,  which  was  readily  ac 
corded.  It  was  an  easy  thing  to  sacrifice  the  wife  of  his 
youth  and  the  mother  of  his  children  for  the  paramour  of  his 
affections. 

A  Mr.  Batie  was  married  to  an  amiable  person,  and  they 
had  a  very  interesting  family.  He  desired  another  wife,  had 
seen  and  loved  a  young  person  and  courted  her.  Mrs.  Batie, 
however,  for  a  long  time,  had  refused  her  consent,  and  had 
weepingly  told  him  if  he  married  this  girl  it  would  break  her 
heart.  To  yield  to  her  affection  was  to  submit  to  be  con 
trolled.  To  consider  her  feelings  was  to  be  "  ruled  by  petti 
coats."  As  she  would  not  consent,  he  was  married  without 
her  consent,  and  without  her  knowledge.  Is  there  any  man 
or  woman  who  can  fail  to  conceive  her  feelings  ? 

A  Mr.  Eldredge  had  a  very  handsome  lady  for  a  wife. 
She  had  shared  her  husband's  sufferings  and  privations.  To 
gether  they  had  toiled,  happily  and  affectionately.  They  had 
amassed  some  property  around  them,  and  were  very  com 
fortable,  too  comfortable  for  Salt  Lake  City.  On  their  dream 
of  peace  Brigham  Young  rudely  broke  by  a  command  that 
"  Brother  Horace  must  take  another  wife !"  Disobedience 
would  be  contumacy,  contumacy  is  to  be  cut  off,  and  that  is 
taught  to  be  perdition.  He  chose  to  obey.  He  married  a 
second,  who  was  inferior  in  every  thing  except  in  age,  to  Mrs. 
Eldredge.  She,  however,  speedily  weaned  her  husband's  af 
fection  from  the  first  wife,  whom  he  soon  after  turned  out  of 


PRACTICAL     POLYGAMY.  Cl 

the  apartments  she  had  toiled  to  furnish,  and  installed  his 
second  wife  therein.  The  feelings  of  Mrs.  Eldredge  can  be 
imagined,  it  is  impossible  that  they  be  described.  I  could 
quote  a  score  of  similar  cases. 

The  real  effects  of  polygamy  on  the  first  wives  can  be  im 
agined,  when  they  force  Brigham  Young  to  use  this  language 
from  the  pulpit,  September  21,  1856  : 

"  Now  for  my  proposition ;  it  is  more  particularly  for  my 
sisters,  as  it  is  frequently  happening  that  women  say  that  they 
are  unhappy.  Men  will  say,  *  My  wife,  though  a  most  excel 
lent  women,  has  not  seen  a  happy  day  since  I  took  my  second 
wife ;'  '  No,  not  a  happy  day  for  a  year,'  says  one ;  and 
another  has  not  seen  a  happy  day  for  five  years.  It  is  said 
that  women  are  tied  down  and  abused ;  that  they  are  mis 
used  and  have  not  the  liberty  that  they  ought  to  have ;  that 
many  of  them  are  wading  through  a  perfect  flood  of  tears, 
because  of  the  conduct  of  some  men,  together  with  their  own 
folly. 

"  I  wish  my  own  women  to  understand  that  what  I  am  go 
ing  to  say  is  for  them  as  well  as  others,  and  I  want  those  who 
are  here  to  tell  their  sisters,  yes,  all  the  women  of  this  com 
munity,  and  then  write  it  back  to  the  States,  and  do  as  you 
please  with  it.  I  am  going  to  give  you  from  this  time  to  the 
6th  day  of  October  next,  for  reflection,  that  you  may  deter 
mine  whether  you  wish  to  stay  with  your  husbands  or  not, 
and  then  I  am  going  to  set  every  woman  at  liberty  and  say  to 
them,  Now  go  your  way,  my  women  with  the  rest,  go  your 
way.  And  my  wives  have  got  to  do  one  of  two  things,  either 
round  up  their  shoulders  to  endure  the  afflictions  of  this  world 


62  PRACTICAL     POLYGAMY. 

and  live  their  religion,  or  they  may  leave,  for  I  will  not  have 
them  about  me.  /  will  go  into  heaven  alone,  rather  than 
have  scratching  and  fighting  around  me.  I  will  set  all 
at  liberty.  'What,  first  wife  too?'  Yes,  I  will  liberate 
you  all. 

"  I  know  wliat  my  women  will  say ;  they  will  say,  '  You 
can  have  as  many  women  as  you  please,  Brigham.'  But  I 
want  to  go  somewhere  and  do  something  to  get  rid  of  the 
winners." — Deseret  News,  October  1,  1856. 

Even  in  Brigham's  family,  and  that  is  the  best-managed  in 
Utah,  there  is  still  "  scratching  and  fighting." 

From  all  I  have  seen  of  Salt  Lake  polygamy,  I  can  assert 
the  almost  universal  rule — a  man  does  not  marry  a  second 
wife,  until  he  finds  somebody  he  prefers  to  the  first ;  and  when 
he  is  married,  it  is  not  long  before  he  exhibits  the  preference. 
It  is  pretended  that  the  consent  of  the  first  wife  is  obtained  to 
such  subsequent  marriages.  That  consent  is  asked  by  the 
husband,  and  who  knows  not  the  thousand  petty  tyrannies 
that  a  husband  can  use  toward  his  wife  to  extort  or  compel 
acquiescence  ?  If  the  consent  be  given,  she  is  willing  to  con 
tribute  to  his  glory,  and  the  ceremony  is  performed.  If  she 
do  not  consent,  women  must  not  be  an  impediment  either  in 
doing  one's  duty,  or  obtaining  one's  salvation ;  so,  therefore, 
the  ceremony  is  performed  just  the  same,  whether  she  con 
sent  or  no,  whether  she  like  the  girl  or  no ;  for  her  husband  to 
will  it,  is  for  the  Lord  to  will  it,  and  nothing  is  left  to  her  but 
to  bend  and  groan.  Polygamy,  however,  does  not  thus  affect 
all  the  first  wives  at  Salt  Lake.  That  which  will  crush  one 
woman  into  the  grave,  and  I  know  more  than  one  such  case, 


PRACTICAL     POLYGAMY.  63 

will  sink  another  into  depravity,  arouse  another  to  despera 
tion,  incite  another  to  retaliation,  and  by  others  will  be  re 
garded  with  the  most  stoical  indifference.  I  can  name  a 

o 

dozen  families  where  the  men  and  women  have  sunk  into  the 
most  complete  and  disgusting  brutishness.  They  fulfill  the  defi 
nition  of  man,  "  food-cooking  animal,"  and  that  is  almost  their 
only  distinction.  If  superior  to  the  animals  at  all,  it  is  only 
in  adding  disgusting  talk  to  disgusting  deeds  ;  in  aggravating 
the  instincts  of  nature  with  the  excitement  of  meditation ; 
deceiving  simple  girls,  and  appeasing  their  own  consciences 
by  disguising  their  practices  with  the  name  of  religion. 
There  are  many  women  in  Utah  who  drink  whisky  to  a  very 
great  extent.  To  drown  thought,  is  to  kill  feeling.  Many 
women  who  will  not  become  depraved,  try  to  be  indifferent. 
I  asked  a  lady  once  at  Salt  Lake,  why  she  never  appeared 
jealous  of  her  husband's  attention  to  his  three  wives  ?  Her 
reply  struck  me  painfully,  "  Mr.  Hyde,  my  husband  married 
me  when  we  were  both  very  young  in  England ;  O !  I  was 
very  fond,  and  very  proud  of  him.  We  came  out  here,  and 
he  took  another  wife.  It  made  me  very  wretched,  Mr.  Hyde, 
but  I  am  not  jealous  now,  for  I  cease  to  care  any  thing  about 
him  /"  When  love  dies,  jealousy  ceases.  Nothing  makes 
people  more  indifferent  than  does  liquor ;  not  only  indifferent 
as  to  others,  but  also  callous  as  to  one's  self.  Many  Utah 
women  seeking  this  callous  state  of  heart,  drink  very  exten 
sively.  Of  this  no  resident  of  Salt  Lake  can  be  ignorant. 
Some,  however,  become  termagants,  fiercely  jealous,  and  fu 
riously  violent.  The  quarrels  resulting  from  such  matters 
often  cause  merriment  in  the  gossiping  circles  of  Utah.  The 


64  PRACTICAL     POLYGAMY. 

constant  policy  of  the  "  authorities,"  however,  is  to  train  the 
mass  of  the  people  to  despise  such  proceedings,  and  to  view 
with  contempt  any  such  woman.  By  this  means  they  crush 
the  voice  of  nature  under  the  weight  of  their  public  opinion. 
Instead  of  such  a  course  eliciting  sympathy,  if  it  be  felt,  it 
falls  still-born  and  unexpressed  ;  and  the  poor  woman,  goaded 
till  she  is  mad,  has  to  stand  alone.  To  stand  up  under  the 
pressure  of  public  vituperation ;  to  endure  the  coarse  crimi 
nation  of  the  Tabernacle  platform,  where  on  Sundays  Brigham 
and  Kimball  will  refer  most  minutely  to  the  persons,  and 
sometimes  even  name  them  before  the  whole  congregation, 
needs  a  stronger  mind  than  possessed  by  most  women.  If 
she  be  discontented,  there  is  the  divorce  alternative ;  but  to 
be  divorced  is  to  lose  her  children.  If  she  decline  divorce, 
she  must  submit.  Broken  and  crushed,  she  must  submit ! 

There  is  yet  another  class  of  first  wives.  These,  finding 
their  jealousy  only  increases  neglect,  and  their  reproaches 
only  serving  to  drive  their  husbands  from  them  to  others  and 
more  affectionate  of  their  wives,  fall  a  step  lower.  Neglect 
breeds  anger ;  anger  engenders  hatred  ;  hatred  meditates  re 
venge.  They  are  powerless  to  retain  their  husband's  affection, 
but  they  can  retaliate  his  infidelity.  The  penalty  of  adultery 
is  death,  unsparing  and  bloody.  It  has  been  inflicted,  is 
being  inflicted,  and  yet  they  can  not  arrest  the  commission  of 
the  sin.  Startling  and  frequent  have  been  the  disclosures. 
Brigham,  in  his  public  sermons  asserts,  that  even  in  his  own 
family,  he  can  not  preserve  his  own  honor.  For  that  reason, 
among  others,  he  said,  "  he  wanted  to  get  them  all  in  one 
house,  under  his  own  eye,"  because  he  "  could  trust  no  one 


PRACTICAL     POLYGAMY.  65 

else,  and  not  even  them."  Just  previous  to  my  leaving  Salt 
Lake  City,  a  very  flagrant  case  got  into  the  public  mouth 
about  one  of  the  wives  of  P.  H.  Young,  Brigham's  brother. 
While  he  was  with  his  other  wives,  a  young  man  in  their 
employ,  was  consoling  her  for  his  neglect.  The  women  are 
very  poor ;  many  of  them  almost  entirely  destitute.  Their 
husbands  and  fathers,  burdened  with  debts,  they  can  not 
pay,  and  with  families  they  can  not  support,  are  often  unable 
to  buy  clothes  enough  for  them  to  be  decent,  to  say  nothing 
of  being  respectable.  The  love  of  dress  is  just  as  strong 
there,  as  anywhere  else ;  and  to  obtain  clothes,  leads  to  the 
same  conduct  there  as  anywhere  else.  Many  of  the  mission 
aries  have  to  leave  their  families  in  penury.  No  assistance 
is  given  such  families,  in  many  instances,  till  they  are  almost 
perishing  for  want.  Neglected  by  absent  husbands  ;  knowing 
that  in  all  probability  they  will  bring  home  other  and  better- 
loved  wives  when  they  return ;  surrounded  by  suffering  chil 
dren  ;  tempted  by  flattery  and  allured  by  money,  it  is  not 
unnatural  for  them  to  fall ;  it  would  almost  be  supernatural 
for  them  not  to  fall.  I  could  name  several  such. 

It  is  this  fact  that  makes  the  Mormons  so  averse  to  any  out 
side  inspection  of  their  "peculiar  institution."  Men  who  are 
giving  constant  reasons  to  be  suspected,  are  the  most  suspi 
cious  of  all  persons.  The  Mormons,  who  are  continually 
wringing  their  wives'  hearts  with  jealousy,  are  the  most 
tyrannically  jealous.  The  most  rigid  watch  is  maintained ; 
and  a  look,  passing  word,  a  visit,  above  all  when  it  is  repeated, 
is  tortured  into 

"  Proof  strong  as  holy  writ." 


66  PRACTICAL     POLYGAMY. 

Heber  C.  Kimball  refused  to  allow  one  of  his  wives  to 
correspond  with  her  friends,  lest  improper  use  might  be  made 
of  the  liberty.  On  the  slightest  occasion  of  distrust  he  will 
mount  the  rostrum  on  a  Sabbath,  and  publicly  tongue-lash 
his  wives ;  and  it  is  a  common  jest  at  Salt  Lake,  that  his 
reason  for  doing  so  at  such  a  time  and  place,  is  because 
"  they  can  not  reply !"  Coercive  measures  never  produce 
virtue.  To  constantly  suspect,  is  often  to  suggest  crime. 
To  bitterly  accuse,  is  frequently  to  instigate.  These  are 
unfailing  truths,  and  they  are  as  unfailing  at  Salt  Lake  as 
elsewhere.  Were  it  not  for  the  great  counteracting  influ 
ence  of  a  strong  religious  fanaticism,  Utah  would  be  a  per 
fect  pandemonium  of  debauchery. 

How  can  they  permit  it  at  all  ?  The  whole,  secret  lies  in 
that  one  word,  fanaticism.  The  women  are  all  sincere  :  their 
sufferings  and  their  sacrifices  prove  that.  They  are  taught 
that  polygamy  is  a  heaven-ordained  institution ;  that  it  was 
countenanced  by  God  anciently  and  is  commanded  by  God 
now ;  that  the  instincts  of  their  nature  which  rebel  against  it 
are  the  results  of  false  education  and  tradition  ;  their  pride  is 
flattered  to  think  that  the  exaltation  of  man  depends  on 
them ;  they  learn  to  sacrifice  themselves  to  elevate,  as  they 
think,  their  husbands.  The  desire  to  be  eternally  glorious,  is 
made  to  overcome  the  wish  to  be  temporarily  happy.  The 
ambition  to  excel  their  neighbors  is  also  used  to  induce  them 
to  submit  patiently  to  privation  and  misery.  What  will  not 
weak  minded  persons  endure  from  a  feeling  of  rivalry  ? 
Where  wealth  is  regarded  as  the  summum  bonum,  any  sacri 
fice  will  be  made  to  give  wealth  to  their  husbands.  In  Utah, 


PRACTICAL     POLYGAMY.  67 

women  are  esteemed  that  summum  bonum,  and  therefore 
many  sacrifice  all  personal  feeling,  and  give  other  women  to 
their  husbands.  The  fanaticism  that  prompts  it  is  old  ;  it  is 
only  this  peculiar  development  of  fanaticism  that  is  new.  It 
is  common  that  people  be  fanatical ;  it  is  growing  to  be  too 
common  that  they  should  choose  Mormonism  as  their  style 
of  exhibiting  it.  Some  women  in  Utah  seem  contented 
enough.  The  most  enthusiastic  arguments  in  favor  of  poly 
gamy  are  used  by  some  of  the  women.  That,  however,  is 
natural  enough.  If  polygamy  be  not  commanded  by  God,  as 
they  believe  it  is,  then  they  would  feel  their  fate  as  others  see 
it.  For  them  to  see  themselves  deceived,  is  to  know  them 
selves  dishonored.  To  maintain  their  own  self-respect,  they 
must  maintain  their  own  self-deception.  Who  knows  not 
what  an  easy  thing  it  is  to  find  force  in  weak  arguments  that 
justify  our  position,  and  not  to  feel  very  strong  ones  that  con 
demn  our  actions.  It  is  necessary  that  these  poor  deluded 
and  degraded  women  should  debate  the  questions  very  often, 
for  they  very  often  feel  the  necessity  to  out-clamor  the  voices 
of  their  own  hearts. 

"  Oh  that  some  gude  God  would  gie  'em 
To  see  themselves  as  others  see  'em." 

The  extent  of  this  infatuation  is  very  extraordinary.     Mrs. 

Joseph  K e  was  the  only  wife  of  her  husband,  whose 

position  was  very  comfortable ;  he  having  considerable 
property  as  well  as  a  profitable  situation  in  the  post-office. 
She  was  very  desirous  to  obtain  a  second  wife  for  Mr.  K.; 
thereby  to  increase  his  glory,  and  as  she  could  only  shine  by 
reflecting  his  light,  thus  increase  her  own  glory  too.  Accord- 


68  PRACTICAL     POLYGAMY. 

ingly,  when  the  new  emigrants  arrived  from  the  plains,  she 
visited  their  camps  and  invited  several  good-looking  single 
young  persons  to  come  and  remain  with  her  during  the  winter. 
She  treated  them  with  all  hospitality  and  kindness ;  contrived 
excellent  opportunities  for  her  husband  to  plead  his  suit,  and, 
as  he  was  a  little  backward,  often  plead  his  cause  for  him. 
Unfortunately  for  her  wishes,  however,  her  efforts  had  failed, 
and  she  was,  when  I  left,  condemned  to  be  the  sole  satellite  of 
her  planet-master.  One  of  Brigham's  wives  affords  a  still 
stronger  proof  of  this  singular  infatuation.  An  uneducated 
English  girl  saw  Brigham  and  loved  him.  She  read  in  the 
Old  Testament  that  Jacob  served  seven  years  to  get  a  wife  ; 
and  as  the  New  Testament  says,  that  in  the  last  days,  "  old 
things  shall  pass  away  and  all  things  shall  become  new,"  she 
interpreted  that  to  mean,  a  reversal  of  matters ;  and,  conse 
quently,  determined  to  reverse  the  case  of  Jacob.  She  offered 
her  seven  years'  service  to  Mrs.  Young,  only  demanding  as 
her  hire,  the  right  to  marry  Brigham.  He  was  consulted  as 
to  this  novel  method  of  getting  a  husband,  and,  of  course, 
had  no  objections  to  offer.  Eliza  served  faithfully,  demanded 
her  wages,  the  thirtieth  share  of  Brother  Brigham.  She  was 
married,  and  I  saw  Brigham  fondle  her  child,  and  call  him 
his  "  English  boy."  It  was  an  attachment  on  her  part  worthy 
a  better  object. 

A  Mrs.  Howard  is  an  intelligent  person,  but  madly  in 
fatuated  with  Mormonism.  Her  husband  saw  a  young  lady 
and  admired  her  ;  got  acquainted  with  and  fond  of  her.  He 
told  his  wife  of  the  affair,  and  desired  her  to  call  on  this 
young  lady  and  request  her  to  marry  him.  The  wife  wept 


PRACTICAL    POLYGAMY.  69 

bitterly  at  this  singular  command  ;  she  had  lost  her  power  to 
longer  please ;  another  had  supplanted  her  in  the  affections  of 
the  man  whom  she  devotedly  loved,  and  to  whom  she  had 
borne  four  children  :  she  felt  as  a  woman  in  such  a  position 
only  can  feel,  but  Mormonism  was  stronger  in  her  soul  than 
her  nature  itself.  She  went  and  asked  this  girl,  who  directly 
refused.  She  informed  her  husband  of  the  result,  and  this  MAN 
bitterly  reproached  his  madly-devoted  wife  for  not  succeeding 
in  persuading  her,  attributing  the  failure  to  his  wife's  jealousy. 
Mrs.  Howard  did  not  murmur,  but  only  wept;  while  he 
blubbered  like  a  boy,  told  her  how  much  he  loved  this  young 
woman,  how  miserable  he  must  ever  be  without  her.  I  be 
lieve  he  induced  this  heart-wrung  woman  to  visit  and  again 
make  this  offer,  but  was  again  refused.  With  these  women 
Mormonism  is  inwound  in  their  hearts,  every  hope  is  centered 
in  it ;  out  of  it  they  fancy  there  is  nothing  but  despair.  They 
are  taught  to  think  that  God  has  re-established  a  priesthood 
on  this  earth  ;  that  this  priesthood  is  almost  immaculate  and 
quite  infallible,  as  a  priesthood ;  and  brought  to  this  stand 
point,  they  blindly  believe  and  as  blindly  obey  all  they  are 
commanded.  Degraded  into  slavery  by  this  Mormon  step- 
back  into  barbarism,  they  are  almost  as  submissive  and  as 
miserable  as  the  Indian  squaws  around  them. 

The  engine  of  Mormon  power  is  not  brute  force ;  not  at 
tempted  or  threatened  violence,  but  the  lever  of  a  skillfully- 
combined  and  ably-handled  system  of  religious  machinery, 
operating  on  duped  and  bewildered  fanatics.  They  feel  its 
force,  are  not  able  to  explain  or  investigate  and  discern  its 
reality,  but  supinely  obey  its  impulses. 


70  PRACTICAL     POLYGAMY. 

"  While  it  is  not  very  surprising  that  the  first  wife  should 
submit,  or  be  compelled  to  submit,  how  is  it  that  the  single 
girls  themselves  marry  old  men  with  several  wives,  in  pref 
erence  to  young  men  with  no  wives  ?"  This  is  more  sur 
prising  from  the  fact  of  there  being,  in  Utah,  so  many 
single  men.  By  the  census  returns  of  1851,  made  by 
the  Mormons  themselves,  the  remarkable  fact  is  proven, 
that  there  were  seven  hundred  and  ten  more  males  than 
females  in  Utah.  That  is,  there  were  nearly  a  thousand 
more  marriagable  men  than  women ;  and  as  some  of  the 
authorities  monopolize  from  thirty  to  five  wives  each,  and  as 
there  are  a  great  number  of  others  with  two  and  three  wives 
each,  there  must  have  been  a  very  large  proportion  of  the 
males  compelled  to  be  single,  because  there  were  no  wives  to 
be  had.  This  proportion  is  materially  reduced,  since  that 
time,  from  several  causes.  Many  young  men  have  left  the 
Church  and  Utah ;  many  have  been  sent  to  the  States  and 
Europe  and  commanded  to  be  sure  and  bring  back  wives ; 
many  of  the  married  Elders  who  have  been  sent  out  have 
been  counseled  "  to  bring  in  as  many  ewe-lambs  as  they  could 
into  the  sheep-fold ;  though  not  to  appropriate  any  till  they 
got  home."  (H.  C.  Kimball.)  There  are  also  a  larger  num 
ber  of  females  than  males  who  emigrate  to  Utah.  Yet,  not 
withstanding  these  causes  being  in  operation,  there  is  not  a 
large  plurality  of  females,  and  there  are  still  hundreds  of 
young  men  in  Utah  unable  to  get  wives :  and  many  of  the 
new-coming  ladies  marry  old  polygamists  in  preference. 

While  nothing  proves  more  plainly  their  fanaticism  than 
this,  nothing  proves  more  plainly  their  sincerity.     Men,  who, 


PRACTICAL      POLYGAMY.  1 

by  a  long  course  of  fidelity,  have  "proven  themselves"  receive 
as  a  reward  for  their  merit,  certain  mysterious  ordinances ; 
pass  by  secret  rites  into  a  sacred  order  and  are  finally  "  sealed 
up  against  all  sin  to  salvation,  except  the  sin  against  the  Holy 
Ghost,  which  is  denying  the  faith,  exposing  the  mysteries,  and 
shedding  innocent  blood."  These  men,  who  are  thus  sealed, 
think  that  they  can  not  be  lost ;  nor  their  wives,  nor  their 
little  ones,  nor  any  who  shall  "  cling  to  them."  Having,  they 
believe,  accomplished  their  own  salvation,  they  are  able,  like 
Jesus,  "to  save  to  the  uttermost  all  who  shall  come  unto 
them."  To  be  married  to  such  a  man,  it  is  taught  to  these 
confiding  neophytes,  is  to  "  secure  eternal  salvation  with  a 
high  degree  of  glory."  They  have  been  previously  made  to 
believe  that  woman  can  not  obtain  any  kind  of  salvation  but 
through  the  man.  "  Eve  led  Adam  out  of  Eden  and  he  must 
lead  her  back  again  1"  As  her  future  position  will  be  regu 
lated  by  that  of  her  husband,  and  as  she  is  taught  that  to  ob 
tain  a  high  position  ought  to  be  the  only  object  of  her  exist 
ence,  hence  she  is  induced  to  desire  to  marry  a  man  who  has 
been  thus  sealed. 

Mormon  women  go  to  Utah,  zealous  in  their  religion ;  they 
go  there  for  its  sake ;  they  have  made  great  sacrifices  already, 
and  are  prepared  to  make  still  greater  for  it ;  they  are  firmly 
convinced  that  these  atrocious  dogmas  are  the  precious  truths 
of  heaven,  and  that  these  men  are  God's  vicegerents ;  they 
swallow  the  gilded  bait,  marry,  and  when  they  wake  up  to 
the  temporal  miseries  of  their  positions,  console  themselves 
in  more  dogmatically  believing  their  fanaticism  and  their 
creed. 


72 


PRACTICAL     POLYGAMY. 


Not  only  the  prospect  of  securing  their  own  salvation  is 
held  out  to  these  misguided  beings,  but  that  of  entailing  sal 
vation  on  their  children.  The  Mormons  believe  that  the  pure 
seed  of  the  house  of  Jacob  can  not  be  lost :  they  are  "  chil 
dren  of  the  covenant  made  to  Abraham,"  It  is  also  believed 
that  Brigham's  children  can  not  be  lost :  they  are  "  children 
of  the  covenant  made  to  Brigham !"  It  is  thus  with  all  those 
who  have  been  "  sealed  up  to  eternal  life."  Every  woman 
has  a  strong  love  for  her  children,  even  when  they  are  only 
prospective.  It  is  a  chord  that  can  be  played  upon,  that  will 
send  out  deep  vibrations.  The  Mormons  play  on  that  delicate 
fiber  of  the  female  heart.  The  woman  is  told  that  by  mar 
riage  with  this  young  man,  he  may  apostatize  and  be  lost ; 
she  would  share  his  fall  and  ruin  ;  her  children,  assimilating, 
not  to  her,  but  to  his  character,  would  be  lost  too,  and  that 
thus  she  would  barter  eternal  loss  for  a  little  passing  pleasure. 
To  marry  this  old,  well-proven,  and  sealed  man,  would  not  only 
secure  her  own  salvation  but  that  of  her  children  ;  and  if  not 
to  enjoy  all  the  temporal  happiness  she  might  with  the  young 
man,  she  should  enjoy  more  of  the  Spirit  of  God  and  secure 
eternal  gain  by  suffering  a  present  loss. 

If  this  be  not  enough  to  persuade  the  deluded  victim,  pre 
viously  confounded  by  bad  argument,  as  to  the  scripturality 
of  the  practice,  and  bewildered  by  pretensions  to  infallibility 
by  the  Prophet ;  then  they  use  another  and  more  powerful 
appeal.  Who  knows  not  the  love  that  clings  around  the 
sacred  memories  of  the  dead  ?  If  these  men  can  perform 
such  works  of  supererogation  as  to  save  children  yet  unborn, 
they  can  also  save  people  who  are  dead.  This  is  inevitable, 


PRACTICAL     POLYGAMY.  73 

and  hence  the  Mormons  claim  to  be  "  saviours  to  the  dead." 
The  rationale  they  adopt  is  this :  Mormonism  is  the  gospel ; 
not  to  have  heard  Mormonism  is  not  to  have  received  the 
gospel,  and  that  is  not  to  be  saved :  but  the  dead  can  hear 
the  gospel  in  spirit,  and  their  friends  at  Zion  can  receive  the 
ordinances  for  them  as  proxies  or  agents.  This  then,  say 
they,  will  be  your  privilege,  if  you  take  this  man.  Salva 
tion  for  yourself,  for  your  unborn  generations,  and  for  your 
dead  kindred.  They  went  there  for  the  sake  of  their  faith, 
and  on  the  shrine  of  their  faith,  with  the  devotion  of  eastern 
idolatry,  they  immolate  themselves.  The  sincerity  of  their 
hearts  or  their  purity  of  motives,  can  not  be  questioned; 
whatever  is  said  must  be  as  to  their  credulity. 

"  But  they  must  awaken  as  wives  and  as  mothers,  why  do 
they  not  leave  ?" 

Fanaticism  may  be  strong ;  self-love  is  stronger.  Many  do 
awaken,  and  weep  bitterly.  Many  would  fly,  but  they  are 
mothers,  they  would  be  forced  to  desert  their  children.  The 
mother's  love  often  overcomes  the  woman's  shame.  Besides 
they  are  dishonored,  betrayed ;  however  innocently  on  their 
part,  they  are  still  degraded.  To  lose  self-respect  is  to  lose 
the  energy  of  a  motive.  They  are  poor,  entirely  dependent, 
and  could  not  leave  if  they  would.  They  are  a  thousand 
miles  from  civilization.  To  solicit  the  protection  of  a  com 
pany  would  be  to  subject  herself  to  the  vilest  slanders  from 
the  Mormon  authorities,  and,  perhaps,  death ;  some  shame 
and  much  curiosity  from  the  company ;  and  would  certainly 
subject  her  protectors  to  arrest  for  abduction ;  a  suit  in  a  Mor 
mon  court  for  monstrous  damages ;  extortionate  fees  for 


74  PRACTICAL     POLYGAMY. 

officers,  and  the  property  of  the  offender  would  be  sold  at 
auction,  for  almost  nothing ;  as  well  as,  in  all  probability,  a 
pistol-ball  through  his  head  for  daring  to  interfere  in  a  Mor 
mon's  domestic  arrangements. 

Not  only  this,  but  having  all  her  few  friends  at  Utah  ; 
seeing  polygamy  constantly  practiced,  and  hearing  submission 
constantly  preached ;  no  adverse  public  sentiment  to  support, 
or  sympathy  to  console,  and  no  one  to  protect  her ;  alone  and 
wavering  in  mind,  she  sinks,  and  to  sink  is  to  be  lost.  Besides, 
virtue  deferred  is  virtue  lost ;  for  the  practice  of  vice  is  like  the 
waters  of  a  fabled  river,  it  soon  petrifies  the  heart. 

What  are  the  effects  of  polygamy  upon  the  children  ? 

It  is  urged  that  polygamy  is  beneficial  to  increase  of  popu 
lation.  "  It  is  not  the  question,"  shrewdly  observes  Paley, 
"  whether  one  man  will  have  more  children  by  five  wives,  but 
whether  those'  five  women  would  not  have  more  children,  if 
they  had  each  a  husband  ?"  That  Brigham  has  more  children 
by  his  large  number  of  wives,  is  certain ;  but  whether  there 
are  as  many  children  in  the  world  as  there  would  have  been 
had  each  of  his  wives  been  married  to  a  separate  husband, 
and  whether  those  children  of  Brigham  are  any  better  de 
veloped,  physically  or  mentally,  is  an  important  question. 
Nature,  as  shown  in  the  proportion  of  the  sexes  (see  chapter 
on  Theoretical  Polygamy),  points  to  monogamy,  and  she  will 
punish  any  infringement  of  her  law.  This  is  plainly  shown  in 
Utah.  The  proportion  of  female  to  male  births,  is  very  much 
in  favor  of  the  female  sex.  In  monogamic  countries,  the  sur 
plus  is  on  the  male  side.  In  polygamic  countries,  as  in  Utah, 
it  is  the  reverse  of  this.  Were  the  inhabitants  of  Utah,  there- 


PRACTICAL     POLYGAMY.  75 

fore,  to  grow  up,  intermarry  without  any  mixture  from  other 
incoming  people,  and  practice  polygamy  as  they  now  practice 
it,  the  male  race  in  a  few  generations  would  become  extinct. 
I  have  observed,  very  frequently,  that  the  more  wives  a  man 
has,  the  greater  the  proportion  of  female  to  male  children  he 
has.  This  might  have  been  predicted  not  only  from  facts  ob 
servable  in  all  polygamic  countries,  but  also  from  well-known 
physiological  laws.  If  the  Mormons  were  to  adopt  the  old 
Arab  custom  of  burying  female  children  alive,  when  they  had 
more  than  one  or  two,  hundreds  of  babes  would  be  murdered 
in  Utah.  Not  only  is  there  this  disproportion,  but  there  is  a 
fearful  mortality  among  the  Mormon  children.  I  think  I  can 
say,  more  children  die  in  Salt  Lake  City,  notwithstanding  the 
salubrity  of  its  climate,  than  in  any  other  city  of  its  size  in  the 
Union.  According  to  their  own  census,  the  mortality  of 
Utah  is  next  to  that  of  Louisiana,  and  the  large  proportion  is 
children.  Salt  Lake  City  is  therefore  nearly  as  unhealthy  as 
New  Orleans. 

This  mortality,  too,  is  particularly  noticed  in  the  families 
of  polygamists.  Brigham  Young,  considering  the  number  of 
his  wives,  has  but  a  very  small  family,  something  over  thirty 
children.  Quite  a  number  of  his  wives  are  sterile ;  many 
others  have  had  large  families,  but  who  have  all  died  in  in 
fancy.  His  houses  are  filled  with  his  women,  but  their  chil 
dren  are  in  their  graves.  Joseph  Smith  had  many  wives  ;  no 
one  but  himself  knows  the  number,  and  many  of  them  had 
children,  but  with  one  or  two  exceptions  they  are  all  dead ; 
and  well  for  them,  poor  little  ones.  Many  of  the  Mormon 
leading  men  have  many  wives,  but  their  children  are  not 


76  PRACTICAL     POLYGAMY. 

proportionably  many.  Facts  like  these  are  not  confined  to 
Utah.  Mohammed  had  many  wives  and  concubines,  some  say 
twenty-five ;  he  had  but  one  son.  Fatima,  the  only  one  of 
his  children  who  survived  her  father,  died  soon  after,  and 
Mohammed's  direct  line  was  extinct.  There  are  many  barren 
women  in  Utah,  and  as  this  is  regarded  as  a  signal  curse,  it 
has  led,  to  my  knowledge,  to  more  than  one  case  of  adultery. 
A  Mr.  Hawkins  was  absent  on  a  mission  to  the  Sandwich 
Islands  ;  he  had  left  behind  him  a  wife,  who  had  never  had  any 
farnity.  Boarding  at  her  house  was  a  Mr.  Dunn,  whose  wife 
was  on  the  road  to  Salt  Lake,  coming  to  join  her  husband. 
Mrs.  Hawkins  was,  however,  found  to  be  enceinte  by  this  man, 
and  the  affair  was  patched  up  by  a  precipitate  marriage  be 
tween  them ;  although  her  husband  was  away  preaching 
Mormouism  to  the  "Kanakas."  When  Mrs.  Dunn  arrived, 
her  feelings  may  be  imagined.  Many  expected  that  Hawkins 
would  shoot  Dunn  on  his  return ;  but  Brigham  hushed  the 
matter  very  quietly,  and  Mrs.  Hawkins  Dunn  now  fondles  her 
two  children. 

If  polygamy  be  inimical  to  the  physical,  it  is  still  more  so  to 
the  moral  and  mental  developments  of  the  children.  Parents 
owe  other  duties  to  children  than  merely  to  beget  them.  Many 
men  marry  wives,  quite  indifferent  about  their  means  of  sus 
taining  them.  It  is  notorious  at  Salt  Lake  City,  that  men 
have  been  walking  about,  doing  nothing,  and  making  their 
wives  support  them  by  taking  in  washing.  I  could  name 
several  such.  With  all  their  toil  it  is  as  much  as  most  of 
these  men  can  do  to  supply  their  physical  wants.  Food  and 
clothing,  and  both  scanty  and  poor,  exhaust  their  purses  and 


PRACTICAL     POLYGAMY.  77 

energies.  They  have  no  time,  and  if  time,  no  disposition  to  at 
tend  to  the  mental  culture  of  their  children.  There  are  always 
too  many  domestic  quarrels  to  adjust ;  some  old  wife  to  scold, 
or  some  new  wife  to  court.  What  they  have  not  time  to  attend 
to  themselves,  they  have  no  money  to  pay  others  for.  The  Salt 
Lake  system  of  schools  is  merely  a  farce  and  a  name  (see 
chapter  on  Schools).  Their  children  are  impatiently  turned 
over  to  their  mother  and  their  aunts,  as  they  call  them,  who 
diive  them  out  of  their  little  crowded  houses.  They  com- 
panionize  with  children  bigger  than  themselves ;  go  with  them 
to  herd  cattle  ;  become  early  inured  to  vice,  and  accustomed 
to  foul  thoughts  and  words  ;  premature  observers  of  the  brute 
creation  ;  practicing,  many  of  them,  the  worst  vices,  and  mak 
ing  the  most  sacredly  private  matters  of  their  families  a  jest 
for  their  playmates.  As  soon  as  they  can  crack  a  whip  or  use 
a  hoe,  they  have  to  work  to  help  support  their  brothers  and 
sisters.  Education  is  neglected,  and  consequently  despised. 
The  habits  of  men  are  contracted  at  the  age  of  boyhood. 
Many  of  their  parents,  themselves  born  in  the  backwoods, 
encourage  their  precocity.  Their  cheating  the  confiding,  is 
called  smart  trading  ;  mischievous  cruelty,  evidences  of  spirit ; 
pompous  bravado,  manly  talk ;  reckless  riding,  fearless  courage ; 
and  if  they  out-talk  their  father,  outwit  their  companions,  whip 
their  school-teacher,  or  out-curse  a  Gentile,  they  are  thought 
to  be  promising  greatness,  and  are  praised  accordingly.  Every 
visitor  of  Salt  Lake  will  recognize  the  portrait,  for  every  visitor 
proclaims  them  to  be  the  most  whisky-loving,  tobacco-chew 
ing,  saucy  and  precocious  children  he  ever  saw.  It  is  true, 
however,  that  the  Mormons  have  been  driven  from  place  to 


78  PRACTICAL     POLYGAMY. 

place  ;  and  to  some  extent  this  has  prevented  much  attention 
being  directed  to  the  education  of  their  children.  This  will 
account,  perhaps,  for  the  ignorance  of  the  older  boys ;  but  this 
ignorance  is  almost  universally  the  case,  and  indeed  could  not 
be  otherwise.  Large  families  of  young  children,  and  many 
wives,  with  frequent  female  ailments,  are  all  dependant  on 
the  toil  of  one  man,  where  most  persons  are  agriculturists, 
and  where  they  can  not  raise  even  cereals 'with  out  irrigating 
the  land  several  times.  All  are  obliged  to  work  as  soon  as 
able,  women  and  children  as  well  as  men,  in  the  fields  and  gar 
dens.  Add  to  all  this  bad  school  regulations,  incompetent 
instructors,  and  the  leaders  fiercely  declaiming  against  the 
Gentiles  and  their  education ;  ignorance,  wickedness,  and  cor 
ruption  among  the  boys  is  inevitable. 

With  the  girls,  the  routine,  though  different,  produces 
nearly  the  same  result.  There  is  a  weekly  meeting  at  Salt 
Lake  Tabernacle  attended  exclusively  by  women  ;  it  is  called 
the  "  Council  of  Health,"  its  object,  to  discuss  the  most  in 
delicate  subjects.  It  is  presided  over  by  an  old  man  named 
Richards,  whose  ordinary  topics  of  conversation  make  even 
Mormons  blush.  It  is  attended  frequently  by  H.  C.  Kimball, 
from  whom  I  have  heard  the  most  disgustingly  filthy  talk 
before  eighty  or  a  hundred  men  and  women.  The  subject- 
matters  of  this  Board  of  Health  form  staple  for  conversation 
during  the  week.  Marriages  and  births  in  detail  are  the 
morceaux  choisies.  The  presence  of  young  girls,  instead  of  re 
pressing,  excites  their  garrulity.  "  To  blush  at  truth,"  says 
Kimball,  "is  from  the  devil."  These  women  copy  their 
prophet ;  mock  the  blush  of  half  shame  and  half  horror ;  and 


PRACTICAL      PO  LI  GAMY.  79 

laugh  at  the  look  of  childish  wonder.  The  consequences  are 
certain.  Children  from  hearing  learn  to  repeat ;  from  repeat 
ing,  learn  to  understand;  from  realizing,  learn  to  act!  The 
sore  begins  to  bloat  with  corruption ;  and  as  the  climax  of 
abomination,  the  authorities  now  advocate  early  marriages ! 

With  snow  constantly  in  sight,  they  urge  the  example  of 
tropical  nations.  They  expect  to  obtain  the  hardy  bodies  and 
sound  minds  of  northern  Saxons  from  the  worst  practices  of  , 
effeminate  Asiatics.  The  fact  is,  some  remedy  has  to  be 
adopted.  Passions  precociously  developed  will  be  precoci 
ously  gratified.  If  not  licensed,  they  will  be  gratified  illicitly. 
"Boys  should  marry  at  fourteen  and  fifteen,  and  girls  at 
thirteen  and  fourteen,"  says  Kimball.  "Boys  should  bo 
married,"  teaches  Brigham,  "  and  still  live  under  their  fathers' 
direction."  Accordingly  both  these  men  had  their  boys 
married  and  living  at  home.  But  as  to  the  offspring  of  these 
marriages  ?  "  The  sins  of  the  fathers  shall  descend  upon  the 
children,  unto  the  third  or  fourth  generation."  Men  can  not 
transgress  nature's  laws  with  impunity.  To  infringe  her 
ordinances,  is  to  secure  her  penalties. 

Where  marriage  is  thus  prostituted  to  gratify  licentiousness, 
either  there  must  be  a  great  facility  of  divorce,  or  else  there 
must  be  an  unmitigated  hell.  Jesus  said,  Matt.,  xix.  9, 
"  Whosoever  putteth  away  his  wife,  except  it  be  for  fornica 
tion,  and  shall  marry  another,  committeth  adultery;  and 
whoso  marrieth  her  which  is  put  away,  committeth  adultery." 
The  Mormons  are  wiser  than  the  Saviour  on  this  subject,  as 
well  as  on  many  others.  The  most  trivial  imaginable  cause 
justifies  and  obtains  a  divorce  at  Salt,  Lake.  Nor  is  any 


80  PRACTICAL     POLYGAMY. 

scruple  made  to  re-marrying  such  a  divorcee.  One  woman  in 
Salt  Lake  has  been  married  six  times ;  four  of  her  previous 
husbands  are,  I  believe,  still  in  Utah.  Several  cases  occurred 
where  people  were  divorced  a  day  or  two  after  their  marriage; 
several  cases  where  divorcees  were  married  a  few  days  after 
being  divorced.  So  common  did  the  applications  for  divorce 
become,  that  in  1854,  Brigham  had  to  impose  a  price  to  be 
paid  in  cash  (then  very  scarce)  upon  all  "  bills."  He  charged 
ten  dollars  if  married  for  time ;  fifty  dollars  if  sealed  for 
eternity.  The  money  went  mostly  to  the  clerk.  Not  a  few 
amusing  scenes  occurred,  where  parties  who  came  for  divorce 
had  to  return  and  live  together,  because  they  could  not  raise 
money  enough  between  them  to  pay  for  the  "  bill."  It  had 
the  desired  effect :  it  decreased  the  applications. 

One  peculiarity  of  the  Mormon  Churches  outside  Utah,  can 
not  but  be  observed,  and  that  is  the  number  of  mis-matches 
that  become  Mormons.  Motives  of  interest,  advice  of  friends, 
thoughtless  indifference,  or  an  act  of  jealousy,  have  united 
many  men  and  women.  Mormonism  to  them  offers  peculiar 
charms :  a  divorce  to  be  had  for  the  asking,  and  a  free  choice 
afterward.  There  are  also  at  Utah  many  women  who  have 
deserted  their  husbands  for  the  sake  of  some  of  the  Elders. 
Some  very  distressing  circumstances  have  occurred  in  conse 
quence  of  this  feature.  One  particularly  is  very  painful. 
Mrs.  M'Lean  was  married,  and  had  several  children.  She 
embraced  Mormonism  in  San  Francisco,  where  she  afterward 
saw  P.  P.  Pratt,  one  of  the  Mormon  Apostles,  and  admired, 
believed,  obeyed,  and  loved  him.  She  several  times  endea 
vored  to  abscond  with  her  children  from  her  husband ;  he, 


PRACTICAL      POLYGAMY.  81 

who  loved  her  and  them  very  devotedly,  prevented  her  taking 
his  children.  The  children  were  finally  sent  from  San  Fran 
cisco  to  Louisiana,  to  their  grandparents.  Mrs.  M'Lean  went 
to  Salt  Lake  and  married  this  man  Pratt,  where  I  saw  her  in 
1855.  She  came  with  him  from  Salt  .Lake  in  1856,  went  to 
her  parents'  house,  pretended  repentance  and  regret,  promised 
amendment,  and  accused  the  Mormons.  She  obtained  their 
confidence,  and  then  stole  the  children  from  their  refuge ; 
leaving  the  grandparents  and  their  father  nearly  distracted. 
Mr.  M'Lean  has  subsequently  shot  Pratt  in  Arkansas,  U.  S. 
I  much  regret  his  desperate  action,  however  deeply  I  sym 
pathize  with  his  misfortunes.  I  made  the  acquaintance  of 
Mr.  M'Lean  in  California,  where  he  was  universally  respected 
and  esteemed  as  an  honorable  and  an  upright  man ;  deeply 
devoted  to  his  wife,  and  tenderly  attached  to  his  children. 
Another  of  this  Pratt's  wives,  I  understand,  was  a  similar  case, 
but  not  so  far  prosecuted  by  the  husband. 

NOT  is  this  Parley  P.  Pratt  the  only  one  of  the  authorities 
who  has  acted  in  this  manner.  Both  Joseph  Smith  and 
Brigham  Young  may  be  cited  as  examples.  A  Mrs.  Cobb 
saw  and  loved  Brigham  at  Boston,  Mass.  She  embraced 
Mormonisin,  and  absconded  from  her  husband,  taking  with 
her  her  daughter  Charlotte.  She  got  to  Salt  Lake,  and  was 
married  to  Brigham.  Charlotte  is  still  there ;  she  is  con 
sidered  the  belle  of  Salt  Lake  ;  and  if  Brigham  does  not  take 
a  notion  to  marry  her  himself,  will  most  likely  be  "  sealed"  to 
one  of  his  sons. 

Marriage  with  the  Mormons  is  regarded  peculiarly  as  a  re 
ligious  rite,  to  be  performed  by  the  priesthood,  wholly  irre- 
4* 


82  PRACTICAL     POLYGAMY. 

spective  of  any  civil  authority.  "  Any  High  Priest,  Bishop, 
Elder,  or  Priest,"  can  perform  it ;  and  as  almost  all  the  Mor 
mons  hold  one  of  these  offices,  almost  every  man  has  the  right 
to  unite  a  couple.  In  this  way  a  great  many  marriages  are 
performed  that  are  only  lawful  in  Utah.  Outside  Mormon- 
dom  they  would  be  regarded  as  concubinage.  This  is  an 
artful  means  of  keeping  people  in  subjection,  and  of  retaining 
them  at  Salt  Lake. 

Thus  far  we  have  reviewed  the  immediate  effects  of  poly 
gamy.  The  Mormons  have,  however,  another  system  of  mar 
riage,  in  the  carrying  out  of  which  there  is  still  more  of  the 
atrocious  and  corrupt.  This  is  what  they  term  "  the  sealing 
for  eternity,"  and  will  require  a  separate  chapter. 


CHAPTER    IV. 

MORMON      MYSTERIES. 

Sealing  for  eternity — Women  married  to  one  and  sealed  to  another  hus 
band — Spiritual  wives — Smith's  death  —  Smith's  widows — "Proxy 
doctrine" — Marriage  and  sealing  for  the  dead — The  endowment — 
Washing — Anointing — Creation — First  degree  of  Aaronic  priesthood 
— Second  degree  of  Aaronic  priesthood — First  degree  of  Melchisedcc 
priesthood — Second  degree  of  Melchisedec  priesthood — "  Behind  the 
vail" — Obedience — Examples — Murders — Sealing  at  the  altar — In 
itiative  lectures— Sealing  to  Indian  squaws — Adoption — Selling  their 
daughters. 

THE  married  relationship,  say  the  Mormons,  was  intended 
as  eternal.  As  marriage  is  a  religious  ceremony  more  than  a 
civil  institution,  they  urge,  therefore,  it  must  be  performed  by 
an  ecclesiastical  dignitary.  All  other  marriages  are  mere 
contracts  sanctioned  by  law,  but  dissolvable  at  the  option  of 
both  contracting  parties.  As  marriage,  ordinarily  adminis 
tered,  is  only  "  till  death ;"  it  is  perfectly  null  and  void  for  any 
period  after  death.  As  they  believe  that  unless  married,  the 
saved  will  not  enjoy  any  "  glory"  in  the  next  world  ;  and  if 
not  married  on  earth,  can  not  be  married  afterward,  therefore 
they  "  marry  for  eternity  T 

This  power  is  vested  in  Brigham  only.  He  can,  however, 
transfer  it  at  option  to  any  other  Apostle.  Heber  C.  Kimball 


84  MORMON     MYSTERIES. 

usually  performs  the  ceremony.  These  marriages  are  always 
performed  in  their  sacred  and  secret  Temple,  in  a  singular 
manner — of  which  hereafter — and  are  termed  sealings.  Peo 
ple,  according  to  Mormon  technology,  are  married  for  time, 
but  sealed  for  eternity. 

It  is  impossible  to  state  all  the  licentiousness,  under  the 
name  of  religion,  that  these  sealing  ordinances  have  oc 
casioned.  A  woman  has  been  married  to  a  man  she  does  not 
like.  She  comes  to  Salt  Lake  and  sees  some  one  whom  she 
does  like.  The  man's  position,  however,  is  such  that  she  does 
not  wish  to  leave  her  husband,  but  only  desires  to  secure 
another  for  an  eternal  husband.  She  can  be  sealed  to  this 
other  man  and  still  remain  with  her  first  husband ;  and  the 
Mormons  believe  that  all  her  children  will  belong  to  the  man 
to  whom  she  is  "  sealed."  "  No  marriage  is  valid  till  physic 
ally  consummated,"  is  a  maxim  of  all  human  and  divine  law. 
These  marriages  or  sealings  are  therefore  consummated  to 
make  them  valid.  But  the  husband  may  know  of  the  seal 
ing  ordinance,  and  desire  to  get  his  wife  sealed  to  him.  To 
tell  him  the  real  facts  might  make  him  apostatize ;  convert  a 
warm  adherent  into  a  devoted  enemy ;  and,  therefore,  the 
Mormons  will  perform  a  "  mock  ceremony,"  contending  that 
it  is  better  one  man  be  deceived,  rather  than  the  whole 
Church  should  suffer.  In  this  way  no  man,  unless  his  posi 
tion  be  so  high  as  to  make  it  impolitic,  is  certain  of  his  dear 
est  wife's  virtue,  or  his  warmest  friend's  honor.  Suspicion 
and  jealousy  are  the  inevitable  results. 

There  is  a  Mrs.  Dibble  living  in  Utah,  who  has  a  fine  son. 
She  was  sealed,  among  others,  to  Joseph  Smith,  although  liv- 


M  0  R  M  ON      MYSTERIES.  85 

ing  with  her  present  husband  before  and  since.  On  the  head 
of  her  son,  Smith  predicted  the  most  startling  prophesies 
about  wielding  the  sword  of  Laban,  revealing  the  hidden 
Book  of  Mormon,  and  translating  the  sealed  part  of  the  rec 
ords.  There  is  not  a  person  at  Salt  Lake  who  doubts  the 
fact  of  that  boy  being  Smith's  own  child. 

It  is  these  wives,  who,  married  to  one  man  and  sealed  to 
another,  are  the  "  spiritual  wives"  of  those  to  whom  they  are 
sealed.  Joseph  Smith  lost  his  life  entirely  through  attempt 
ing  to  persuade  a  Mrs.  Dr.  Foster,  at  Nauvoo,  that  it  was  the 
will  of  God,  she  should  become  his  "  spiritual  wife  ;"  not  to 
the  exclusion  of  her  husband,  Dr.  Foster,  but  only  to  become 
his  in  time  for  eternity  !  This  nefarious  offer  she  confessed  to 
her  husband.  Some  others  of  a  similar  nature  were  discov 
ered,  and  Dr.  Foster,  William  Law,  and  others  began  to  ex 
pose  Smith.  Their  paper  was  burned,  type  and  press  demol 
ished,  for  which  Smith  was  arrested  and  afterward  shot,  by 
Missourians,  at  Carthage,  111.  Of  course,  all  this  is  denied  by 
the  Mormons,  but  the  same  men  denied  that  Smith  practiced 
polygamy  at  all.  One  of  their  denials  is  proven  to  be  a  false 
hood  ;  may  not  the  other  be  equally  false  ?  Not  only  did  they 
deny  the  action,  but  also  the  principle  involved  in  the  action. 
Not  only  have  they  subsequently  acknowledged  polygamy, 
but  they  now  admit  the  principle  ;  but  still  persist  in 
denying  this  action  of  Smith.  Two  of  the  facts  being  ad 
mitted,  when  all  three  were  previously  denied,  makes  the 
third  very  probable.  It  is  certain  Mrs.  Dr,  Foster  knew  of 
the  principle,  else  she  could  not  have  told  her  husband.  It  is 
also  certain  that  she  would  not  have  known  it  had  Smith  not 


86  MORMONMYSTERIES. 

revealed  it  to  her.  It  is,  therefore,  strongly  presumptive  that 
as  Smith  certainly  did  reveal  to  her  the  principle,  that  he  did 
so  for  the  object  she  states :  and  I  think  that  her  testimony, 
which  is  very  positive,  is  irrefutable  in  the  matter. 

The  Mormons  do  not  now  seek  to  deny  the  fact  that 
women  married  to  one,  may  be  sealed  to  another  husband ; 
only  asserting  that  such  marriages  go  no  further.  But  as 
they  contend  that  no  marriage  is  valid  till  consummated,  and 
insist  that  these  marriages  are  valid,  either  they  destroy 
their  own  system,  or  else  there  is  licentiousness  and  corrup 
tion.  There  would  be  only  one  choice  in  the  mind  of  any  be 
lieving  Mormon.  When  a  woman  sinks  low  enough  to  prefer 
another  man  for  her  pseudo  eternal  husband,  she  is  certainly 
sunk  low  enough  to  sin  in  deed  as  well  as  thought.  When 
the  promptings  of  affection  are  sanctioned  by  religion  and 
legalized  by  precedent,  few  persons  would  hesitate  at  in 
dulgence. 

As  a  man's  "  kingdom"  depends  solely  on  the  size  of  his 
family ;  and  as  all  the  children  that  the  woman  may,  have 
belong  to  her  sealed  husband,  whether  by  him  begotten  or 
not;  and  as  if  the  husband  dies,  all  his  anticipated  glory 
seems  to  be  arrested ;  the  "  Saints"  have,  therefore,  adopted 
the  plan  of  appointing  brethren  as  their  agents  to  continue 
their  "glorifying"  after  their  decease.  Alexander  McRae, 
an  old  Mormon  and  companion  of  Joseph  Smith,  but  not  a 
polygamist,  was  called  on  abruptly,  at  Fillmore,  in  1855,  to 
"increase  the  kingdom"  of  a  dead  brother  by  taking  his 
widow  ;  she  having  seen,  liked,  and  wanted  him,  and  having 
gone  to,  President  Kimball  and  solicited  to  have  him  counsel 


MORMON     MTSTERIB3.  8*7 

McRae  .to  take  her.  Kimball  gave  McRae  the  "  word  of  the 
Lord,"  and,  although  it  very  much  displeased  him,  he  had  to 
submit.  Many  of  the  widows  of  Joseph  Smith,  who  could 
not  find  other  husbands,  were  taken  by  Brigham,  who  has 
been  endeavoring  to  perpetuate  his  kingdom  on  earth.  Not 
only  is  it  deemed  proper  to  take  the  widows  of  some  good 
brother,  but  also  to  take  fresh  wives  for  your  dead  brother. 
There  was  a  lady  named  P —  — .  in  Salt  Lake,  in  1854,  who 
had  heard  of  and  loved  Smith.  He  had  been  dead  for  ten 
years,  but  that  is  nothing  to  the  wings  of  Mormon  faith.  She 
was  desirous  to  be  sealed  to  him,  although,  I  believe,  she  had 
a  husband  still  living  in  the  States.  Brigham  consented  to 
act  as  proxy  or  agent  for  Joseph  Smith,  and  accordingly  the 

interesting  ceremony  was  performed.     Mrs.  P .  good 

soul,  gave  up  all  her  property  to  the  Church,  faithfully  believ 
ing  she  had  joined  the  numerous  army  of  the  Smiths  in  gen 
eral,  under  the  especial  banner  of  the  Prophet,  Joseph, 

A  still  more  atrocious,  but  natural  result  of  his  sensual 
salvation  remains.  As  a  man's  family  constitutes  his  glory, 
to  go  on  a  mission  for  several  years,  leaving  from  two  to  a 
dozen  wives  at  home,  necessarily  causes  some  loss  of  family, 
and  consequently,  according  to  Mormon  notions,  much  sacri 
fice  of  salvation.  This  difficulty  is  however  obviated  by  the 
appointment  of  an  agent  or  proxy,  who  shall  stand  to  them- 
ward  in  their  husband's  stead.  Many  and  many  a  little  child 
has  been  thus  issued  into  the  Mormon  world.  This  is  one  of 
the  secret  principles  that  as  yet  is  only  privately  talked  of  in 
select  circles,  and  darkly  hinted  at  from  their  pulpits  and  in 
their  works.  They  argue  that  the  old  Mosaic  iasv  of  a 


88  MORMON     MYSTERIES. 

"  brother  raising  up  seed  to  his  dead  brother"  is  now  in 
force  ;  and  as  death  is  only  a  temporary  absence,  so  they  con 
tend  a  temporary  absence  is  equivalent  to  death  ;  and  if  in 
the  case  of  death,  it  is  not  only  no  crime,  but  proper;  so'also 
in  this  case  it  is  equally  lawful  and  extremely  advantageous ! 
This  practice,  commended  by  such  sophistry,  and  commanded 
by  such  a  Prophet,  was  adopted  as  early  as  at  Nauvoo. 

Much  scandal  was  caused  by  others  than  Smith  attempting 
to  carry  out  this  doctrine.  Several,  who  thought  what  was 
good  for  the  Prophet  should  be  good  for  the  people,  were 
crushed  down  by  Smith's  heavy  hand.  Several  of  those  have 
spoken  out  to  the  practices  of  the  "  Saints."  Much  discussion 
occurred  at  Salt  Lake  as  to  the  advisability  of  revealing  the 
doctrine  of  polygamy  in  1852,  and  that  has  caused  Brigham 
to  defer  the  public  enunciation  of  this  "  proxy  doctrine,"  as 
it  is  familiarly  called.  Many  have  expected  it  repeatedly  at 
the  late  conferences.  Reasoning  their  premises  out  to  their 
natural  and  necessary  consequences,  this  licentious  and  in 
famous  dogma  is  their  inevitable  result. 

Another  result  of  their  doctrines  is  another  excuse  for  licen 
tious  indulgence.  The  Mormons  believe,  as  before  stated,  in 
the  possibility  of  man's  administering  salvation  to  the  dead. 
Hundreds  of  devout,  strangely  devout  and  fanatically  sincere 
people  are  immersed  on  the  behalf  of  their  dead  relations ; 
males  for  men,  females  for  women.  But  the  salvation  of  the 
dead,  say  they,  has  to  be  consummated  in  the  same  manner  as 
that  of  the  living.  "  They  will  be  nowhere,"  says  Kimball, 
"  unless  they  have  wives :"  and  these  immersed  people  are 
therefore  married  for  their  dead.  But  as  marriage  is  only  a 


MORMON     MYSTERIES.  89 

transient  affair,  they  have  to  be  also  "  sealed'1'1  for  the  dead. 
And  as  a  marriage  ceremony  is  not  valid  till  completed,  there 
is  practiced  in  consequence  more  abomination.  For  as  the 
glory  of  the  dead,  as  well  as  the  living,  depends  entirely  on 
the  size  of  their  families,  these  accommodating  proxies  raise 
children  for  the  dead  too  ! 

That  these  practices  should  be  indulged,  is  not  surprising. 
That  they  should  be  vailed  under  the  garb  of  sanctity,  and 
excused  on  the  grounds  of  religion,  is  infamous.  Mormonism 
is  ingenious  in  finding  excuses  for  licentiousness  ;  it  is  a  bitter 
and  a  burning  satire  on  human  purity  and  progress ;  a  dis 
gusting  but  a  palpable  proof  of  human  depravity. 

Much  has  been  said  of  the  Mormon  endowment.  It  has  been 
extolled  by  its  recipients  until  the  bewildered  minds  of  their 
hearers  have  thought  it  something  sublime.  Men,  who  proud 
that  they  had  a  secret,  and  desirous  that  every  one  should  know 
that  they  had  it,  uttered  dark  hints.  They  exhibited  a  singular 
kind  of  an  under-garnient  which  they  constantly  wore.  This 
was  fantastically  marked  and  given  them  in  the  Temple. 
They  promised  this  endowment  to  their  awe-struck  disciples, 
as  the  full  fruition  of  the  blessing  of  heaven,  etc.,  etc.,  etc. 
As  to  what  it  really  was,  all  was  perfectly  hidden ;  as  all  who 
received  the  initiation  were  bound  by  the  most  fearful  penal 
ties  not  to  reveal  any  thing  of  the  matter.  Oaths  were  ex 
acted,  obliging  the  person  who  took  them,  to  agree  to  un 
dergo  a  violent  and  cruel  death  on  revealing  the  "  mystery." 
I  am  about  to  make  a  statement,  as  nearly  as  I  can  remem 
ber,  of  what  the  ceremonies,  etc.,  were.  I  am  induced  to  this 
violation  of  my  oaths,  from  five  reasons.  First,  As  no  one 


90  MORMON      MYSTERIES. 

knew  what  were  the  oaths  previous  to  hearing  them  ;  and  as 
no  one  on  hearing  could  refuse  to  make  them,  they  are  not 
binding  in  justice.  Second,  As  the  obligations  also  involved 
other  acts  of  obedience  as  well  as  secrecy ;  and  as  I  do  not 
intend  to  obey  those  other  obligations,  it  can  be  no  more  im 
proper  to  break  the  oath  of  secrecy  than  the  oath  of  unlimited 
obedience.  Third,  As  the  obligations  involve  treason  against 
the  confederacy  of  the  United  States ;  and  therefore  illegal 
ab  initio  ;  and  as  the  law  makes  the  misprision  or  conceal 
ment  of  treason,  treason  itself,  it  becomes  a  duty  to  expose 
them.  Fourth,  As  the  promise  of  endowment  is  one  of  the 
great  inducements  held  out  to  deluded  Mormons,  to  persuade 
to  emigration  to  Salt  Lake,  it  is  right  that  they  should  know 
the  value  of  their  anticipated  blessing ;  and  Fifth,  It  is  better 
to  violate  a  bad  oath  thau  keep  it :  as  it  would  have  been  bet 
ter  for  Herod  to  have  forfeited  his  promise,  than  to  kill  John 
the  Baptist.  As  to  the  penalties  I  incur,  I  have  but  one  duty  • 
to  God  and  the  world  ;  and  to  God  and  the  world  I  confide 
my  safety. 

On  Friday,  February  10,  1854,  pursuant  to  notice  I  had 
received,  with  no  other  instructions  than  to  wear  a  clean 
shirt,  myself  and  wife  went  to  the  Council  House,  Salt  Lake 
City,  at  about  seven  o'clock  in  the  morning.  About  thirty 
persons  were  previously  waiting  there,  who  were  to  be  "  en 
dowed  from  on  high"  that  day.  Our  names,  with  full  par 
ticulars  of  birth,  marriage,  etc.,  were  all  registered  in  a 
record;  our  tithing-office  receipts  examined,  because,  before 
hearing  the  music,  it  is  first  necessary  to  "  pay  the  piper." 
All  those  who  had  not  been  previously  sealed  to  their  wives, 


MORMON     MYSTERIES.  91 

were  then  sealed  by  Heber  C.  Kimball,  who  has  under  his 
peculiar  direction  the  giving  of  the  endowment,  and  we  were 
ushered  into  a  long  room  which  was  divided  into  many  little 
compartments  by  white  screens.  All  was  solemn  and  hushed. 
Our  shoes  had  to  be  removed  in  the  outer  register  office, 
those  who  were  officiating  were  in  slippers,  and  the  few  words 
spoken  in  giving  directions  were  only  in  a  dim  murmur. 
The  women  were  sent  to  one  portion  of  the  place,  the  men  to 
another.  All  was  still ;  the  simmer  of  the  wood  in  the  stove 
made  quite  a  painful  impression  on  the  nerves.  The  novelty 
of  the  situation,  the  uncertainty  and  expectation  of  what  was 
to  follow,  the  perfect  stillness  heightened  by  the  murmuring 
whispers,  the  dull  splash  of  water,  the  listening  and  serious 
faces,  the  white  screens  themselves,  every  thing  was  calculated 
to  excite  the  superstitious  in  any  one.  One  by  one  the  men 
were  beckoned  out  till  it  was  my  turn.  I  was  told  to  undress, 
and  was  then  laid  down  in  an  ordinary  tin  bath,  which  I  re 
member  was  painted  inside  and  out ;  a  Dr.  Sprague — who,  in 
passing,  is  one  of  the  filthiest-minded  men  I  ever  met — was 
officiating  as  "  washer,"  which  ceremony  consisted  of  washing 
one  all  over  in  tepid  water,  and  blessing  each  member  as  he 
proceeded,  from  the  head  downward :  "  brain  to  be  strong, 
ears  to  be  quick  to  hear  the  words  of  God's  servants,  eyes 
to  be  sharp  to  perceive,"  nose,  mouth,  arms,  hands,  breasts, 
with  the  peculiar  blessing  appropriate  to  each,  down  to 
the  "feet  to  be  swift  to  run  in  the  ways  of  righteousness." 
Washed,  and  pronounced  "  clean  from  the  blood  of  this 
generation,"  I  was  handed  over  to  Parley  P.  Pratt,  who 
was  seated  in  a  corner,  and  appointed  to  give  to  each 


92  MORMON     MYSTERIES. 

"  clean  man"  a  "  new  name,  whereby  he  should  be  known  in 
the  celestial  kingdom  of  God."  He  called  me  "  Enoch,"  and 
I  passed  on  back  to  our  waiting-room,  where  each  in  turn 
was  seated  on  a  stool,  and  some  strongly  scented  'oil  was 
ladled  out  of  a  mahogany  vessel  in  the  shape  of  a  cow's  horn, 
by  means  of  a  little  mahogany  dipper,  and  poured  on  his 
head.  This  unctuous  compound  was  rubbed  into  eyes,  nose, 
ears,  and  mouth,  sodden  in  the  hair,  and  stroked  down  the 
person  till  one  felt  very  greasy  and  smelt  very  odorous.  This 
ordinance,  performed  by  Elders  Taylor  and  Cummings,  was 
accompanied  by  a  formula  of  blessing  similar  to  the  "  wash 
ing,"  and  was  "  the  anointing,"  administered  preparatory  to 
being  ordained  a  "  king  and  priest  unto  God  and  the  Lamb," 
which  ordination,  however,  can  only  be  performed  in  the  real 
Temple.  Greased  and  blessed,  we  had  then  to  put  on  the 
"  garments,"  a  dress  made  of  muslin  or  linen,  and  worn  next 
to  the  skin,  reaching  from  the  neck  to  the  ankles  and  wrists, 
and  in  shape  like  a  little  child's  sleeping  garment.  Over  this 
was  put  a  shirt,  then  a  robe  made  of  linen,  crossing  and 
gathered  up  in  pleats  on  one  shoulder,  and  reaching  the 
ground  before  and  behind,  and  tied  round  the  waist.  Over 
this  was  fastened  a  small  square  apron,  similar  in  size  and 
shape  to  masonic  aprons,  generally  made  of  white  linen  or  silk 
with  imitation  fig-leaves  painted  or  worked  upon  it.  A  cap, 
made  from  a  square  yard  of  linen,  and  gathered  into  a  band  to 
fit  the  head,  socks,  and  white  linen  or  cotton  shoes,  completed 
the  equipment.  While  thus  dressing  ourselves,  a  farce  was 
being  performed  in  the  next  compartment.  The  creation  of 
the  world  was  being  enacted.  Eloheim,  J.  M.  Grant,  was 


MORMON     MYSTERIES.  93 

counseling  with  Jehovah,  Jesus,  and  Michael  (Adam),  W.  C. 
Staines,  about  making  and  peopling  the  earth.  He  sends 
these  three  down  to  take  a  look  and  bring  him  back  word  as 
to  what  are  the  prospects.  They  pretend  to  go,  examine,  and 
return  to  report.  The  first  chapter  of  Genesis  is  then  per 
formed,  Eloheim  taking  the  "  and  God  said"  part ;  the  three 
pretending  to  go  and  accomplish  the  command,  and  return 
and  make  report,  using  "  and  it  is  so."  The  mind  was  struck 
with  the  wild  blasphemy  of  the  whole  affair.  When  they 
came  down  to  the  creation  of  man,  the  three,  Jehovah,  Jesus, 
and  Michael,  came  into  our  compartment,  and  by  stroking 
each  of  us  separately,  pretended  to  form ;  and  by  blowing 
into  our  faces,  pretended  to  vivify  us.  We  were  then  sup 
posed  to  be  as  Adam,  newly  made  and  perfectly  ductile  in  the 
hands  of  our  makers  (an  allegory  to  be  terribly  carried  out). 
But  we  w^ere  alone  ;  a  little  more  farce,  and  our  wives  were 
introduced,  who  were  similarly  arrayed,  and  had  been  simi 
larly  conducted  toward  as  ourselves,  their  officiaries  of  course 
being  women,  Miss  E.  R.  Snow,  and  some  others.  We  were 
made  to  shut  our  eyes  as  if  asleep,  commanded  to  arise  and 
see,  and  our  wives  were  severally  given  to  us.  Joy  of  course 
filled  our  hearts,  and  we  filed  off  by  twos  to  the  compartment 
where  we  had  heard  the  voice  of  Eloheim.  This  compart 
ment,  by  the  aid  of  some  dwarf  mountain  pines  in  boxes, 
(now  paintings),  was  made  to  looking  something  like  a  garden. 
W.  C.  Staines,  as  Adam,  and  Miss  Snow  as  Eve,  were  our 
"fuglemen;"  we  did  what  they  did.  Some  raisins  were 
hanging  on  one  shrub,  and  W.  W.  Phelps,  in  the  character 
of  the  devil,  which  he  plays  admirably  (!),  endeavored  to  en- 


94  _.     MORMON     MYSTERIES. 

tice  us  to  eat  of  them.  Of  course,  "  the  woman  tempted  me 
and  I  did  eat."  We  were  then  cursed  by  Eloheim,  who 
came  to  see  us :  the  devil  was  driven  out,  and  this  erudite 
astronomer  and  Apostle  (!)  wriggled,  squealed,  and  crept  away 
on  his  hands  and  knees. 

We  were  then  supposed  to  be  in  a  cursed  condition,  and 
here  commences  the  terrible  intention  of  this  otherwise 
ridiculous  buffoonery.  We  were  now  helpless  without  the 
intervention  of  a  higher  power,  and  the  establishment  of  a 
higher  law.  Any  law  that  could  apply  to  the  body  was  of 
small  consequence ;  any  power  that  could  control  the  body 
was  of  no  moment.  Thus  lost  and  fallen,  God  establishes  the 
priesthood,  and  endows  them  with  the  necessary7  jurisdiction  ; 
their  power  unlimited,  their  commands  indisputable,  their 
decisions  final,  and  their  authority  transcending  every  other. 
They  were  to  act  as  God,  with  God's  authority,  in  God's 
place.  Oaths  of  inviolate  secrecy,  of  obedience  to  and  depend 
ence  on  the  priesthood,  especially  not  to  "  touch  any  woman, 
unless  given  by  this  priesthood,  through  the  President"  were 
then  administered  to  the  intimidated  and  awed  neophytes. 
A  sign,  a  grip,  and  a  key  word  were  communicated  and  im 
pressed  by  practice  on  us,  and  the  third  degree  of  the  Mormon 
endowment,  or  first  degree  of  the  Aaronic  priesthood,  was  con 
ferred.  Man,  continues  the  allegory,  goes  out  into  life,  hav 
ing  one  law  of  purity,  one  key  of  truth,  and  one  power  of 
priesthood.  With  these  he  goes  forth  into  the  world,  where 
light  is  made  darkness  and  darkness  light.  He  is  lost  in 
doubt  as  to  where  the  truth  .is.  He  is,  in  the  next  room,  sup 
posed  to  be  in  the  midst  of  the  sects  of  the  present  day. 


MORMON      MYSTERIES.  95 

Several  imitations  of  the  common  styles  of  .Quakers,  Metho 
dists,  and  others  are  performed.  The  devil,  W.  W.  Phelps, 
meets  and  accosts  each  of  them  with  "  Good-morning,  brother 
Methodist,"  etc.,  "  I  love  you  all,"  "  You're  my  friends,"  etc., 
etc.  Three  Apostles,  Peter  (P.  P.  Pratt),  James  (J.  Taylor), 
John  (E.  Snow),  entered,  and  after  a  little  badinage  between 
the  devil  and  them,  Peter  commands  him  to  depart  in  the 
name  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  by  the  authority  of  the 
holy  priesthood,  and  that  makes  him  foam,  hiss,  and  rush  out. 
These  Apostles  then  begin  to  examine  us  as  to  our  position ; 
and  new  instructions  are  given  to  us,  not  only  as  to  priest 
hood  in  general,  as  an  abstract  idea,  but  to  the  Mormon  dig 
nitaries  as  the  only  representatives  of  this  idea  of  priesthood. 
The  intention  of  this  step  is,  that  Peter,  James,  and  John 
came  down  to  Joseph  Smith,  and  conferred  on  him  this  priest 
hood,  which  has  descended  to  Brigham  Young ;  that  all  the 
reverence  that  Christ  in  them  could  induce,  was  now  to  be 
paid  to  this  Mormon  priesthood ;  immediate,  implicit,  and 
unquestioning  obedience ;  to  be,  as  Kimball  said,  "  like  a 
tallowed  rag  in  the  hands  of  Brigham  Young"  Now,  pre 
surned  this  allegory,  we  were  advancing  toward  the  kingdom 
of  God.  The  man  Adam,  lost  by  reason  of  his  fall,  the  great 
original  sin  ;  doubly  lost  by  the  addition  of  his  personal  sins, 
has  received  powers  and  blessings,  and  wandered  away  from 
the  truth.  As  it  was  the  priesthood  who  took  him  up  in  his 
fall,  gave  him  the  promise  of  a  Redeemer,  so  it  must  be  this 
priesthood  that  must  be  the  instruments  of  accomplishing 
his  redemption.  God  has  now  taken  pity  on  the  world, 
wandering  in  darkness,  and  revealed  his  gospel  to  Smith,  be- 


96  MORMON     MYSTERIES. 

stowed  upon  him  this  priesthood,  and  is  now  demanding  entire 
obedience  to  him  and  his  successors. 

An  oath,  with  the  penalty  of  throat-cutting,  was  the  condi 
tion  of  the  first ;  heart  being  plucked  out,  etc.,  etc.,  dragged 
into  agonizing  details,  is  the  penalty  of  the  second  oath. 
New  secrecy  is  impressed,  and  the  second  degree  of  Aaronic 
priesthood,  with  signs,  grip,  and  key  word,  is  bestowed. 

This  farce,  heightening  into  a  fearful  reality,  is  continued. 
The  allegory  presumes  man  to  be  now  in  a  partially  saved 
state.  He  is  ushered  into  a  room  with  an  altar  in,  the  center 
of  it.  Undying  fidelity  to  the  brethren  is  here  inculcated. 
"  Never  to  speak  evil  of  the  Lord's  anointed,"  or,  in  other 
words,  to  shut  your  mouth  on  all  iniquity  ;  to  see  and  not  to 
speak.  Not  only  to  think  with  their  thoughts ;  to  come  to 
them  as  mediators  between  Christ  and  man,  as  Christ  is  their 
Mediator  between  them  and  God ;  to  feel  as  they  feel,  and  act 
as  they  act ;  to  render  implicit  obedience  to  any  requisition 
however  treasonable,  however  criminal,  however  unnatural, 
however  impious  it  might  be ;  not  only  all  this,  but  never  to 
"  speak  evil  of  the  Lord's  anointed."  To  have  the  "  Church" 
the  first  thing  in  your  mind,  and  filling  the  only  place  in  your 
affections ;  to  be  ready  to  sacrifice  to  its  dictum  or  its  interests 
the  warmest  friend,  the  nearest  relation,  the  dearest  wife,  or 
even  life  itself ;  to  hold  no  trust  as  sacred,  no  duty  obligatory, 
no  promise  or  oath  binding  that  militates  or  infringes  the  in 
terests  of  the  Church.  On  this  oath  being  taken,  the  penalty, 
on  either  breaking  or  revealing  it,  being  that  you  shall  have 
your  navel  ripped  across,  and  your  bowels  gush  out,  etc.,  etc., 
in  all  sorts  of  disgusting  and  horrifying  details,  another  sign, 


MORMON     MYSTERIES.  97 

key  word,  and  grip  is  communicated,  and  the  first  degree  of 
the  Melchisedec  priesthood  is  conferred. 

Stupefied  and  weary  ;  bowing  under  a  sense  of  fearful  and 
unnatural  responsibility;  excited  by  a  species  of  apprehen 
sion  as  to  what  would  come  next,  we  were  ushered  into  an 
other  room.  An  altar  was  in  the  center ;  on  it  the  Bible,  Book 
of  Mormon  and  Book  of  Smith's  Revelations.  Man  and 
woman,  we  were  ranged  around  the  place ;  Kimball  in  the 
same,  and  Brigham  in  the  next  room  looking  on ;  Parley 
Pratt  officiating,  and  the  fourth  oath  was  administered.  The 
allegory  presumed  that  man,  now  in  a  fair  and  certain  way  to 
salvation,  had  a  great  temporal  duty  to  perform,  not  an  ab 
stract  theory  of  obedience,  nor  obedience  in  abstract  things, 
but  a  great  positive,  present,  immediate  duty.  We  were, 
therefore,  sworn  to  cherish  constant  enmity  toward  the  United 
States  government  for  not  avenging  the  death  of  Smith,  or 
righting  the  persecutions  of  the  Saints ;  to  do  all  that  we 
could  toward  destroying,  tearing  down,  or  overturning  that 
government ;  to  endeavor  to  baffle  its  designs  and  frustrate  its 
intentions ;  to  renounce  all  allegiance  and  refuse  all  submis 
sion.  If  unable  to  do  any  thing  ourselves  toward  the  accom 
plishment  of  these  objects,  to  teach  it  to  our  children  from 
the  nursery;  impress  it  upon  them  from  the  death-bed;  entail 
it  upon  them  as  a  legacy.  To  make  it  the  one  leading  idea 
and  sacred  duty  of  their  lives  ;  so  that  "  the  kingdom  of  God 
and  his  Christ"  (the  Mormon  Church  and  its  priesthood) 
"  might  subdue  all  other  kingdoms  and  fill  the  whole  earth." 
Curses  the  most  frightful,  penalties  the  most  barbarous,  were 
threatened  and  combined  in  the  obligation  either  on  failing  to 


98  MORMON     MYSTERIES. 

abide  or  in  daring  to  reveal  these  covenants.     A  new  sign,  a 
new  key-word,  a  new  grip,  and  the  second  degree  of  Mel- 
chisedec  priesthood  was  administered.     We  were  now  accept- 
able  to  God,  and  could  approach  him  as  children,  but  had  to 
learn  how  to  pray.    We  were  now  told  that  our  robes  were  on 
the  wrong  shoulder  and  as  a  sign  of  our  entire  dependence  on 
the  priesthood  in  spiritual  things,  they  set  them  right.     In 
order  to  impart  a  deeper  religious  tone  to  these  proceedings, 
and  to  feed  the  flame  here  kindled,  a  new  method  of  praying 
was  shown  to  us.    All  the  endowees  were  to  stand  in  a  circle  ; 
silently  to  repeat  all  the  signs  with  their  formula,  and  then 
to  be  united  by  a  fantastic  intertwining  of  hands  and  arms. 
While  in  this  position  one  who  is  previously  chosen  to  be 
"  mouth-piece,"  kneels  on  his  right  knee,  takes  hold  of  the 
hand  of  one  of  the  standing  brethren,  thus  completing  the 
"  circle,"  and  prays  slowly  ;  all  repeating  his  words  after  him. 
Thus  to  meet  in  circle,  to  solemnize  our  thoughts  by  as 
suming  the  garb,  to  refresh  our    memories  and  realize  our 
obligations  by  repeating  all  the  formula  of  sign,  token,  key 
words  and  penalties ;  and  then  to  pray  standing  in  a  mysterious 
position,  using  abracadabratic  terms,  is  thought  to^call  down 
from  heaven  an  immediate  answer  to  prayer,  because,  rinding 
peculiar  favor  in  the  eyes  of  God.     These  circles  meet  every 
week,   and  Brigham  and   the   Twelve  Apostles   often   meet 
every  day   in   this   manner  and  for   this   object.     Standing 
thus,  Parley  P.  Pratt  prayed,  and  we   slowly  repeated  his 
words,  calling  on  God  to  bless  or  curse  as  we   obeyed  or 
neglected   the   covenants   we    had    made.    We    were   now 
brethren,  members  of  the  holy  orders  of  God's  priesthood ; 


MOEMON     MYSTERIES.  99 

admitted  to  the  full  participation  in  the  privileges  of  the 
fraternity ;  recognizing  each  other  readily ;  constantly  wear 
ing  a  garment  as  a  protector  and  remembrancer  ;  bound 
to  each  other  by  tremendous  secrets ;  chained  to  the  priest 
hood  by  fearful  oaths. 

We  were  now  to  pass  through  the  Vail,  a  thin  partition  of 
linen,  through  which  all  the  whole  formula  had  to  be  re 
peated  ;  certain  marks  on  the  bosom  and  front  of  the  shirt 
are  cut  with  a  pair  of  scissors ;  another  name  is  whispered 
very  softly  and  very  quickly,  too  soft  and  fast  to  be  distin 
guished  ;  and  we  were  ushered  into  the  Celestial  Kingdom  of 
God,  having  passed  "  behind  the  Vail !"  The  men  then  turn 
round  and  admit  their  wives,  who  have  to  repeat  the  whole 
affair  once  more,  and  the  door  is  opened  and  they  are  let 
through.  In  the  "  Celestial  Kingdom"  we  found  Brigham, 
and  many  others  waiting  to  hear  the  "  Endowment  Lecture" 
which  is  delivered  on  every  initiation  day.  We  were  then  al 
lowed  to  dress,  retaining  our  under-garments  ;  got  a  hurried 
lunch,  it  being  nearly  four  o'clock,  and  returned  to  the  "  Ce 
lestial  Kingdom"  to  hear  the  lecture.  This  was  by  H.  C. 
Kimball,  explaining  the  allegory  and  enforcing  the  seriousness 
of  the  affair;  repeating  the  different  signs 'with  formulas  of 
recognition ;  giving  some  pointed  warnings  and  uttering 
some  tremendous  threats ;  and  about  six  o'clock  we  returned 
to  the  office,  resumed  our  boots  and  shoes,  and  the  affair  was 
ended. 

There  are  very  few  minds,  of  the  caliber  usually  converted 
and  seduced  into  Mormonism,  that  can  readily  shake  off  the 
benumbing  effect  of  such  a  day  as  that  above  described. 


100  MORMON     MYSTERIES. 

Free-masonry,  Odd-fellowship,  and  other  kindred  ceremonies 
sway  very  mightily  the  minds  subject  to  their  influence,  and 
initiated  into  their  secrets.  The  mysteries  of  sacred  orders 
paralyzed  strong  energies,  inflamed  cold  hearts,  and  inflated 
hard  minds  of  ancients.  It  is  not  astonishing  that  these 
ceremonies  stimulate  the  terror  and  excite  the  supersitions  of 
their  initiated  too.  It  is  not  surprising  that  thus  bound  ; 
thinking  that  the  whole  is  a  revelation ;  hurried  along  ;  see 
ing  Brigham  Young  just  as  infatuated  as  any  of  them,  firmly 
convinced  that  this  is  the  kingdom ;  this,  the  age ;  this,  the 
means;  and  themselves  the  people,  that  they  should  suf 
fer  and  act  as  they  do.  It  may  show  them  in  a  state  of  frail 
human  nature,  but  it  does  not  show  them  at  all  unnatural. 

That  there  is  much  genius  shown— if  genius  be  shown  in 
the  adaptation  of  means  to  ends— in  these  Mormon  mysteries, 
none  can  dispute.  They  are  admirably  fitted  to  sternly  im 
print  and  superstitiously  to  enweave  themselves  iu  the  hearts 
of  their  recipients.  It  is  hard  to  concieve  of  a  better  means 
to  soften  prejudices,  almost  to  amuse,  by  an  apparent  triviality, 
till  leading  one  gradually  and  unsuspiciously  along,  making 
every  word  an  iron  bar,  and  every  bar  a  step  to  the  grand 
finale,  till  the  farce  deepens  into  the  real,  and  the  real  is  sub 
limed  into  the  tragic. 

There  is  one  thing  that  is  utterly  ridiculous,  the  pretending 
to  claim  inspiration  as  its  source.  Its  signs,  tokens,  marks 
and  ideas  are  plagiarized  from  masonry.  The  whole  affair  is 
being  constantly  amended  and  corrected,  and  Kimball  often 
says,  "We  will  get  it  perfect  by-and-by."  The  giving  the 
"  new  name"  is  optional  with  the  namer,  and  he  has  no  rule. 


MORMON     MYSTERIES.  101 

The  inspiration  of  the  moment  is  the  inspiration  of  God. 
Many  have  the  same  name,  but  as  they  are  not  known  by 
any  but  one's  self,  and  he  to  whom  they  are  uttered  at  the 
Vail,  that  does  not  make  the  slightest  difference.  One  man 
forgot  his  name  in  the  mass  of  excitement,  and  Pratt  could 
not  remember  what  name  he  gave  him,  and  so,  to  settle  the 
difficulty,  he  gave  him  another,  and  he  passed  through  the 
Vail,  and  that  did  just  as  well.  From  first  to  last,  the  inten 
tion  of  the  mystery  is  to  teach  unlimited  obedience  to  Brig- 
ham,  and  treason  against  the  country.  However  infatuated, 
they  all  see  this  plainly ;  and  the  stronger  their  infatuation, 
the  prompter  their  obedience. 

To  many  strange  extremes  do  they  carry  this  obedience. 
Mr.  Eldredge  had  a  daughter,  handsome,  intelligent,  and 
amiable.  She  loved  a  young  man,  and  he  her.  Brigham's 
nephew,  Joseph  W.  Young,  saw  and  liked,  but  was  disliked 
by  her.  He  spoke  to  Brigham,  who  told  Eldredge  "  that  he 
had  to  marry  his  girl  to  Joseph  W.,  that  it  was  his  '  counsel/ 
and  that  every  man  must  be  master  of  his  household."  Her 
wrung  heart,  her  crushed  love,  her  blasted  hopes,  and  her 
stifled  aversion  yielded  at  the  shrine  of  this  monster  supersti 
tion,  and  she  married  Joseph  W.  Young.  Bishop  Hoagland 
had  a  daughter,  Emily.  A  Mr.  J.  C.  Little  was  married  and 
not  desirous  to  become  a  polygamist.  Kimball  commanded 
him  to  take  this  girl,  commanded  Bishop  Hoagland  to  give 
her,  and  commanded  Emily  to  have  Mr.  Little.  Indifference 
was  overcome,  the  warm  hopes  of  a  girl's  heart  for  a  fond 
young  husband,  torn  up  like  weeds,  and  she  married,  and  she 
wept !  Z.  Snow  had  been  one.  of  the  Utah  judges,  was  a 


102  MORMON    MYSTERIES. 

Mormon,  kept  a  store,  offended  Brigham,  who  cursed  him 
most  fearfully;  reproached,  rebuked,  charged,  threatened 
him,  and  finally  commanded  him  to  go  on  a  mission  to  Aus 
tralia,  for  at  least  three  years.  Z.  Snow  was  a  man  of  educa 
tion,  a  lawyer,  had  fought  his  way  to  the  bench,  a  man  of 
money  and  business,  had  struggled  with  the  world  and  had 
conquered ;  but  yet,  like  a  child,  he  bowed  his  head  to  Brig- 
ham's  withering  rebukes,  fearful  criminations,  merciless  an 
athemas  ;  left  his  family,  gave  up  his  business,  said  nothing, 
accepted  the  appointment,  and  is  now  in  Australia,  preaching 
Mormonism  !  I  could  name  a  score  of  such  evidences  of  the 
cruelest  tyranny  and  the  most  superstitious  obedience.  Mor 
monism,  at  Salt  Lake,  is  a  whirlpool ;  once  get  into  the 
stream,  and  you  must  either  be  sucked  down  into  its  vortex, 
or  else  be  cast  out  bruised  and  broken. 

While  men  will  themselves  thus  suffer  unrepining,  and 
never  think  of  resistance,  it  is  not  at  all  astonishing  that  they 
should  inflict  suffering  on  others,  and  never  dream  of  any 
thing  but  doing  their  duty.  What  is  still  more  singular,  men 
who  have  been  employed  in  the  commission  of  positive 
crimes,  never  think  of  taking  any  extra  freedom  on  that  ac 
count,  but  show  and  actually  feel  all  the  same  veneration  for 
their  Prophet.  Second  Zeids  giving  up  women  to  a  second 
Mohammed,  could  not  evince  more  superstition  and  more 
obedience.  When  the  Mormons  talk  so  much  of  death  as  a 
penalty,  it  is  not  the  idle  threat  of  imaginary  killing,  but  the 
strong  word  of  merciless  men.  They  never  threaten  what 
they  will  not  perform,  and  fear  of  risking  the  penalty  with 
holds  many  from  apostacy. 


MOEMON     MYSTERIES.  103 

That  the  Church  has  instigated  many  murders  there  can 
be  no  question.  Not  only  do  they  not  deny,  but  even  pub 
licly  preach  its  propriety,  as  a  means  of  salvation.  As  soon 
as  the  news  of  the  murder  of  Squire  Babbett  and  party 
reached  Salt  Lake,  the  impression  grew  strong  in  the  minds 
of  the  people,  that  it  had  been  done  by  the  instruction  of  the 
Church ;  as  Babbett  was  very  troublesome,  was  feared, 
had  often  been  threatened,  was  a  "  covenant-breaker,"  and, 
consequently,  by  Mormon  law,  ought  to  die.  The  desire 
prompted  the  suspicion,  and  the  more  closely  that  the  cir 
cumstances  were  scrutinized,  the  stronger  these  suspicions  be 
came.  Some  weak-minded  people,  however,  did  not  approve 
of  such  bloody  measures,  and  Brigham,  to  effectually  quiet 
their  scruples,  preached  this  strange  doctrine  on  Sabbath 
afternoon,  September  21,  1856  : 

"  There  are  sins  that  men  commit  for  which  they  can  not 
receive  forgiveness  in  this  world,  or  in  that  which  is  to  come, 
and  if  they  had  their  eyes  open  to  see  their  true  condition, 
they  would  be  perfectly  willing  to  have  their  blood  spilt  upon 
the  ground,  that  the  smoke  thereof  might  ascend  to  heaven  as 
an  offering  for  their  sins;  and  the  smoking  incense  would 
atone  for  their  sins,  whereas,  if  such  is  not  the  case,  they  will 
stick  to  them  and  remain  upon  them  in  the  spirit  world. 

"  I  know,  when  you  hear  my  brethren  telling  about  cutting 
people  off  from  the  earth,  that  you  consider  it  is  strong  doc 
trine  ;  but  it  is  to  save  them,  not  to  destroy  them.  I  will  say 
further ;  I  have  had  men  come  to  me  and  offer  their  lives  to 
atone  for  their  sins. 

"  It  is  true  that  the  blood  of  the  Son  of  God  was  shed  for 


104  MORMON     MYSTERIES. 

sins  through  the  fall  and  those  committed  by  man,  yet  men 
can  commit  sins  which  it  can  never  remit.  As  it  was  in 
ancient  days,  so  it  is  in  our  day ;  and  though  the  principles 
are  taught  publicly  from  this  stand,  still  the  people  do  not 
understand  them ;  yet  the  law  is  precisely  the  same.  There 
are  sins  that  can  be  atoned  for  by  an  offering  upon  an  altar  as 
in  ancient  days  ;  and  there  are  sins  that  the  blood  of  a  lamb, 
of  a  calf,  or  of  turtle  doves,  can  not  remit,  but  they  must  be 
atoned  for  by  the  blood  of  the  man.  That  is  the  reason  why 
men  talk  to  you  as  they  do  from  this  stand  ;  they  understand 
the  doctrine,  and  throw  out  a  few  words  about  it." — Deseret 
News,  October  1,  1856. 

When  the  citizens  of  Carroll  and  Davis  counties,  Mo., 
began  to  threaten  the  Mormons  with  expulsion  in  1838,  a 
"  death  society"  was  organized,  under  the  direction  of  Sidney 
Rigdon,  and  with  the  sanction  of  Smith.  Its  first  captain  was 
Captain  "Fearnot,"  alias  David  Patten,  an  Apostle.  Its 
object  was  the  punishment  of  the  obnoxious.  Some  time 
elapsed  before  finding  a  suitable  name.  They  desired  one 
that  should  seem  to  combine  spiritual  authority,  with  a  suit 
able  sound.  Micah,  iv.  13,  furnished  the  first  name,  "Arise, 
and  thresh,  0 !  daughter  of  Zion  ;  for  I  will  make  thy  horn 
iron,  and  thy  hoofs  brass ;  and  thou  shalt  beat  in  pieces  many 
people ;  and  I  will  consecrate  their  gain  unto  the  Lord,  and 
their  substance  unto  the  Lord  of  the  whole  earth."  This  fur 
nished  them  with  a  pretext ;  it  accurately  described  their  in 
tentions,  and  they  called  themselves  the  "  Daughters  of  Zion.' 
Some  ridicule  was  made  at  these  bearded  and  bloody  "  daugh 
ters,"  and  the  name  did  not  sit  easily.  "  Destroying  Angels" 


MORMON     MYSTERIES.  105 

came  next;  the  "Big  Fan"  of  the  thresher  that  "should 
thoroughly  purge  the  floor,"  was  tried  and  dropped.  Genesis, 
xlix.  17,  furnished  the  name  that  they  finally  assumed.  The 
verse  is  quite  significant :  "  Dan  shall  be  a  serpent  by  the  way, 
an  adder  in  the  path,  that  biteth  the  horse's  heels,  so  that  his 
rider  shall  fall  backward."  The  "  Sons  of  Dan"  was  the  style 
they  adopted ;  and  many  have  been  the  times  that  they  have 
been  adders  in  the  path,  and  many  a  man  has  fallen  back 
ward,  and  has  been  seen  no  more.  At  Salt  Lake,  among 
themselves,  they  ferociously  exult  in  these  things,  rather  than 
seek  to  deny  or  extenuate  them. 

Some  of  the  leading  spirits  of  that  band  are  still  in  Salt 
Lake  City.  Although  they  do  not  maintain  their  organiza 
tion,  being  generally  merged  into  "  Brigham's  Life  Guards," 
yet  without  the  same  name,  they  have  performed  the  same 
deeds.  0.  P.  Rockwell,  the  attempted  assassin  of  Governor 
Boggs,  and  who  was  instructed  by  Smith  to  commit  the  deed, 
Brigham  has  had  into  the  pulpit  to  address  the  meetings ! 
A  W.  Hickman,  against  whom  many  indictments  are  out  in 
Iowa,  and  who  is  publicly  known  as  an  "  avenger  of  blood," 
is  one  of  Brigham's  most  particular  intimates.  It  is  no  secret 
at  Salt  Lake  that  several  men  have  disappeared  after  being 
last  in  the  company  of  this  man,  and  no  question  is  raised  as 
to  the  matter  there.  This  man  was  one  with  three  other 
such  who  left  Salt  Lake  without  any  ostensible  reasons  for 
their  journey,  traveled  near  to  the  spot  where  Messrs.  Margetts 
and  Cowdy  were  said  to  have  been  murdered,  and  returned 
bearing  the  news  of  their  murder.  This  circumstance  is  still 
more  significant,  remembering  that  Margetts  and  Cowdy  were 
5* 


106  MORMON      MYSTERIES. 

both  "  covenant-breaking"  apostates ;  that  they  were  return 
ing  to  their  native  country  ;  that  they  could  make  many  ter 
rible  disclosures,  and  do  Mormonism  much  injury  in  England ; 
that  it  was  Mormon  law  that  they  should  die,  and  Mormon 
interest  to  kill  them ;  that  these  men  had  no  other  motives 
for  traveling  more  than  a  thousand  miles  ;  that  they  returned 
as  soon  as  they  had  got  near  the  spot  where  these  unfortunate 
men  and  their  families  were  murdered ;  that  the  excitement 
at  Salt  Lake  on  hearing  the  news  was  so  great  that  it  needed 
Brigham  to  preach  the  above  discourse  in  order  to  allay  it ; 
and  that  in  this  discourse,  instead  of  endeavoring  to  deny  the 
suspicion  or  extenuate  the  act,  he  defends  such  means  as 
the  only  remaining  method  of  insuring  their  salvation.  It  is, 
say  they,  a  portion  of  the  penalty  they  invoke  on  themselves, 
and  therefore  secure  to  themselves.  Whether  Brigham  be 
guilty  of  the  murder  of  these  men,  can  not,  perhaps,  be  known 
till  "  the  great  day."  I  can  not  but  feel  that  it  appears 
strongly  suspicious.;  although  one  of  them  being  my  own 
cousin,  perhaps  incapacitates  me  from  correct  and  impartial 
judgment.  What  is  for  the  salvation  of  a  saint,  must,  of 
course,  be  the  very  best  means  of  securing  the  salvation  of  a 
"Gentile,  and  heathen  without  the  gate."  Men  who  are 
sworn  not  to  hesitate  at  the  sacrifice  of  themselves,  will  not 
be  very  chary  at  the  sacrifice  of  others.  Nor  have  they 
been ;  several  Missourians,  well  known  and  well  hated  as 
enemies,  have  been  put  under  the  ground.  When  a  man  is 
missing  at  Salt  Lake,  it  is  a  common  expression,  "  He  has  met 
the  Indians."  Colonel  Peltro  and  Mr.  Tobin,  with  their  ser 
vants,  were  severely  wounded  by  Mormons,  who  attacked  them 


MORMON     MYSTERIES.  107 

in  the  night,  on  Santa  Clara  river,  370  miles  south  of  Salt 
Lake.  They  lost  six  horses,  worth  at  least  one  thousand 
dollars,  and  were  compelled  to  abandon  their  baggage,  which 
was  perfectly  riddled  with  shot.  The  object  of  their  enmity 
and  this  attempted  assassination  was  Mr.  Tobin.  He  went 
with  Captain  Stansbury  to  Salt  Lake  in  1851;  then  met 
Brigham,  and  admired  his  daughter  Alice ;  was  engaged  to 
her,  and  left  Salt  Lake  on  business.  He  returned  in  1856, 
and  renewed  his  engagement  with  Miss  Alice  ;  although  she 
was  at  the  same  time  under  a  written  engagement  to  a  Mr. 
"W.  Wright,  whom  Brigham  sent  off  to  the  Sandwich  Islands, 
to  get  him  out  of  the  way.  Mr.  Tobin  told  me  in  California 
that  he  had  the  most  convincing  proof  that  Miss  Young  had 
sacrificed  her  honor,  and  accordingly  refused  to  marry  her. 
For  this,  Mormon  hated ;  for  the  influence  he  might  exert 
abroad,  Mormon  feared  ;  and  because  both  hated  and  feared, 
he  was  nearly  Mormon  murdered. 

Elder  Willard  Snow,  while  sitting  as  a  justice  of  the  peace, 
in  the  trial  of  Mr.  John  Galvin,  for  striking  a  Mormon,  said 
to  him,  "  If  you  ever  lay  your  hands  on  another  Saint,  I  will 
have  your  head  cut  off  before  you  leave  the  city.  I  thank 
God  that  the  time  is  not  far  distant,  and  I  shall  rejoice  when 
it  comes,  that  I  shall  have  the  authority  to  pass  sentence  of 
life  and  death  on  the  Gentiles,  and  I  will  have  their  heads 
Snatched  off  like  chickens  in  the  door-yard."  The  threat  was 
not  vain,  and  the  opinion  is  very  commonly  entertained.  Mr. 
George  Grant,  then  deputy  sheriff,  on  the  same  occasion,  said 
to  the  same  individual,  "  If  I  had  my  way,  I  would  drown  you 
in  the  Jordan  river." 


108  MOEMON      MYSTERIES. 

Such  are  not  only  the  sentiments  of  Brigbam,  haranguing 
the  people,  but  the  large  majority  of  the  Mormon  people,  ex 
pressing  their  sentiments  through  Brigham. 

The  penalty  of  adultery  is  death.  Dr.  Vaughan  was  shot 
by  a  Mr.  Hamilton,  on  suspicion.  James  Monroe  was  mur 
dered  by  a  Howard  Egan,  for  the  same  reason.  Should  an 
endowed  Mormon  commit  adultery  he  must  die  for  his  salva 
tion.  If  a  Gentile,  he  must  die  for  atonement. 

The  endowment  they  are  now  giving  at  Salt  Lake,  is  viewed 
but  as  a  temporary  affair,  in  force  only  till  a  Temple  is  built, 
where  it  will  all  have  to  be  repeated,  with  increased  perform 
ances.  Since  I  went  through  the  ceremonies,  they  have  built 
an  "  Endowment  House,"  in  which  they  have  added  a  sealing 
ordinance.  This  endowment  is  essential,  say  they,  to  salva 
tion.  No  man  but  an  endowee  can  have  a  wife !  "  From 
him  that  hath  not,  shall  be  taken  what  he  seemeth  to  have  ; 
and  to  him  that  hath,  shall  be  given  more  abundantly,"  is 
their  generous  reading  of  the  promise.  To  have  a  wife  you 
must  be  "  sealed  at  the  altar."  Unless  previously  endowed, 
one  never  sees  the  altar,  nor  knows  what  it  means.  Accom 
panied  by  my  wife,  I  went  to  the  "  Endowment  House."  "We 
assumed  our  robes,  aprons,  caps,  etc.,  and,  looking  like  a  mon 
grel  of  half  Hebrew  half  Brahmin,  went  to  the  "  altar  room." 
It  is  well  carpeted ;  its  altar  is  a  kind  of  solid  table,  nicely 
cushioned,  with  a  cushioned  ledge  to  kneel  on.  I,  kneeling 
on  one,  and  my  wife  kneeling  on  the  other  side  of  the  altar 
between  us,  grasping  each  other's  hands  across  its  cushioned 
top,  with  the  "  patriarchal  grip,"  Kimball  demanded  the 
usual  questions  as  to  willingness,  and  pronounced  us  "  man 


MORMON     MYSTERIES.  109 

and  wife  for  time  and  for  all  eternity,  by  the  power  and 
authority  of  the  holy  priesthood  invested  in  me,  and  I  seal 
upon  your  head  the  blessings  of  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob, 
for  time  and  for  all  eternity,  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  Son, 
and  Holy  Ghost.  Amen.  Kiss  your  wife."  Such  was  the 
formula ;  Kimball  had  so  often  repeated  it,  that  he  gabbled 
it  off  without  stops  or  pauses ;  running  "  kiss  your  wife" 
into  the  amen,  like  some  clerks  of  courts  administering  oaths 
to  witnesses. 

In  the  lectures,  which  used  to  be  always  delivered  after  the 
initiations,  the  most  disgusting  language  I  ever  heard  in  my 
life  is  reveled  in  by  Kimball.  He  boasts,  "  you  are  under 
oath,  and  you  can't  tell  it."  Comparisons  and  expressions 
that  would  disgrace  a  prostitute  are  luxuriously  mouthed 
over,  before  a  congregation  of  sixty  to  a  hundred  men  and 
women.  He  speaks  them  as  though  ho  wished  them  to 
dwell  on  his  tongue,  the  same  as  they  dwell  in  his  thoughts. 
Duties  the  most  secret  and  sacred  are  not  only  plainly  but 
filthily  spoken  of  by  him,  as  though  the  essence  of  nastiness 
had  been  distilled  and  his  heart  lay  festering  in  it.  I  have 
heard  him,  in  these  meetings,  avow  "  that  a  little  drunken 
spree,  if  quite  in  secret  and  among  a  few  good  fellows,  was  no 
great  sin." 

So  sunk  are  they  in  infatuated  and  fanatical  licentiousness, 
that  the  white  women  at  Utah  do  not  content  them.  Al 
though  Smith,  speaking  of  the  Indians,  in  his  Book  of  Mor 
mon,  p.  66,  says, "  Cursed  shall  be  the  seed  of  him  that  mixeth 
with  their  seed :  for  they  shall  be  cursed  with  the  same  curs 
ing,"  Brigham  now  teaches  that  "  the  way  God  has  revealed 


110  MORMON     MYSTERIES. 

for  the  purification  of  the  Indians,  and  making  them  '  a  white 
and  delightsome  people,'  as  Joseph  prophesied,  is  by  us 
taking  the  Indian  squaws  for  wives  ! !"  Accordingly  several 
of  these  tawny  beauties  have  been  already  "  sealed"  to  some 
of  the  Mormon  authorities. 

Another  method  of  "  increasing  their  kingdom,"  is  by 
adoption  for  eternity.  "  Children,"  say  they,  "  born  out  of 
the  *  covenant  of  sealing,'  are  only  bastards ;  they  have  the 
claim  of  paternity  on  their  father,  but  he  has  no  eternal  right 
to  them."  As  their  "  glory"  depends  on  their  family,  much 
wish  is  felt  to  get  some  of  these  children  to  adopt.  The  son 
must  share  the  father's  "  glory ;"  and,  therefore,  the  more 
glorious  the  father,  the  more  elevated  the  child.  Many  young 
men  give  themselves  over  to  the  leading  men  as  "  eternal 
sons,"  in  the  hope  of  sharing  the  honor  of  their  adopted  pa 
rents.  Both  Brigham  and  Kimball  have  many  such  adopted 
sons.  A  W.  C.  Staines  is  as  well  known  to  be  Brigham's 
son,  as  a  D.  Candland  is  to  be  Kimball's. 

Brigham  Young,  and  others  of  the  authorities,  have  dis 
covered  another  novel  method  of  extending  their  kingdoms, 
by  trafficking  for  sons.  Woman  adds  to  man's  "  glory,"  say 
they,  only  as  a  wife.  If  he  can  not  marry  her,  she  is  a  bur 
den.  Unmarried  daughters,  therefore,  do  not  lead  very  happy 
lives.  They  are  poor  and  valueless  property  to  any  but  their 
husbands.  Brigham,  however,  has  turned  his  to  some  ac 
count,  by  compelling  the  man  who  wants  to  marry  one,  to  be 
first  adopted  to  him.  "  If,"  says  he,  "  you  won't  help  to  glo 
rify  me,  she  sha'n't  help  to  glorify  you  !" 

His  daughter  Alice,  mentioned  above,  in  connection  with 


MORMON     MYSTERIES.  Ill 

Mr.  Tobin,  was  for  some  time  and  to  some  extent  "  kept  in 
the  market"  at  these  terms.  When  Mr.  Tobin  left,  she  was 
very  quickly  married  to  H.  B.  Clawson,  notwithstanding 
Brigham  had  promised  her  to  W.  B.  Wright,  who  was 
preaching  in  the  Islands. 

When  persons  give  themselves  up,  blindly  and  enthusias 
tically,  to  the  directions  of  other  and  designing  men  ;  imagine 
they  are  invested  with  God-given  powers,  and  endowed  with 
a  God-given  sagacity,  it  is  inevitable  that  they  run  into  the 
wildest  vagaries  that  lunatics  could  rhapsodise,  or  fanatics  be 
lieve.  Nor  is  it  surprising  that  men,  by  a  gradual  system  of 
rigid  self-training,  should  positively  be  sincere  in  their  folly 
and  their  faith.  Nor  can  it  be  astonishing  that  this  sincere 
exaltation  should  be  cunning  in  forging  chains  and  artful  in 
imposing  them  on  the  minds  of  other  equally  deluded,  but 
less  gifted  believers.  While  this  fanaticism  can  wield  such  a 
mighty  influence  over  the  female  heart,  crushing  into  the 
dust  the  tenderest  susceptibilities,  the  dearest  hopes,  the  voices 
of  the  heart,  and  the  instincts  of  nature  ;  binding  together 
tempers  the  most  antagonistic,  opinions  the  most  diverse,  na 
tionalities  the  most  jealous ;  grinding  woman  to  degradation 
and  misery,  and  almost  freezing  her  tears  and  stifling  her 
groans,  it  is  not  singular  that  it  sways  the  men. 

Eeligious  fanaticism  is  almost  epidemic.  Like  black  and 
fetid  pools  that  lie  stagnating  under  the  sun,  noisome  with 
miasms  and  feculent  with  contagion,  are  the  reservoirs  of  de 
lusion.  From  slimy  depths  breathes  out  this  moral  and  men 
tal  malaria,  and  while  men  are  wondering  if  such  things  can 
be,  thousands  are  swimming  in  lasciviousness ;  and  by  sur- 


112  MORMON     MYSTERIES. 

rounding  it  with  a  few  ridiculous  rules,  teaching  it  with  an 
affected  sanctity,  decking  it  in  tinsel  gew-gaws,  flimsy  trap 
pings  and  trickery  of  the  stage;  defending  it  with  a  few 
specious  sophistries,  and  obeying  it  with  devout  buffoonery, 
it  can  be  made  respectable  in  the  eyes  of  the  men,-  sacred  in 
the  eyes  of  the  women,  infallible  in  the  eyes  of  future  genera 
tions.  It  is  thus  with  Mormonism.  Designs  the  most  trea 
sonable,  Utopias  the  most  impracticable,  dogmas  the  most 
ridiculous,  and  pretensions  the  most  ill-sustained;  visionary 
projects  and  outrageous  tyranny,  self-abnegation  and  disgust 
ing  sycophancy,  the  very  worst  of  practices  under  the  very 
best  of  assumptions,  and  the  whole  greedily  swallowed  and 
enthusiastically  taught.  Thus  it  comes  robed  in  the  segis 
of  religious  prerogative  which  enhances  its  deformity,  while 
it  disarms  much  opposition.  Mormonism  in  the  old  is  ridicu 
lous  and  distressing ;  but  these  are  still  bound  by  old  ties  to 
old  friends,  and  old  homes.  Mormonism  in  the  young  is 
frightful ;  they  know  no  sense  of  right  but  their  Prophet's 
word,  no  standard  of  evidence  but  the  Prophet's  opinion,  no 
aspirations  but  for  the  festering  bathos  of  their  impious  creed, 
and  no  duty  but  implicit  obedience  to  their  conspirator  lead 
ers.  Taught  to  regard  all  the  world  as  their  enemies,  their 
country  as  their  oppressors,  and  their  duty. to  destroy  it; 
taught,  too,  that  in  the  accomplishment  of  this  object,  all 
means  are  honorable,  every  weapon  an  especial  providence, 
and  every  advantage  a  prestige  of  victory,  they  are  being 
trained  for  desperate  ends  ;  and  I  fear,  finally,  to  be  subdued 
alone  by  desperate  measures. 

Mormonism  has  some  principles  of  power  in  it,  else  like 


MORMON     MYSTERIES.  113 

bloated  and  corrupt  fruit  it  would  burst  and  fall.  Their  laws 
allow  male  licentiousness,  however  it  may  be  cloaked  under 
pretense  of  religion,  but  it  is  only  found  in  certain  channels, 
and  it  is  retained  there.  Under  the  enslaving  shackles  of 
religious  fanaticism,  they  are  strongly  united;  not  with  the 
cords  of  reason,  or  the  garland-strings  of  love,  but  by  the 
heavy  fetters  of  infatuation. 

While  this  gags  their  press,  cleaves  down  their  liberties, 
and  makes  of  men  and  women  moral  and  mental  slaves,  it 
still  accomplishes  some  little  good  ;  and  viewing  that  little 
good,  at  the  same  time  ignoring  all  the  evil,  the  Mormons 
really  believe  that  Utah  is  the  best  place  in  the  world.  It 
compels  them  to  work  hard,  and  that  builds  up  cities  and 
manufactories.  It  certainly  does  away  with  prostitution,  and 
that  is  a  prominent  argument  urged  by  the  Mormons  in  its 
favor  (see  its  refutation  in  chapter  on  Theoretical  Polygamy). 
It  prevents  all  disastrous  difference  of  opinion,  by  coercing  all 
to  believe  alike  ;  and  this  makes  intelligence  stagnate.  There 
are  less  robberies,  murders,  arsons,  rapes  at  Utah,  than  in  any 
other  place  of  equal  population  in  the  world.  "While  the 
bad  is  remembered,  it  ought  not  to  exclude  the  good.  These 
are  the  natural  consequences  of  their  system  of  government, 
but  in  order  to  produce  these  results  a  gross  superstition  with 
licentiousness  peculiar  to  itself;  belief  in,  and  fear  of  ridicu 
lous  pretensions  of  religious  authority  and  universal  degrada 
tion,  has  to  be  adopted.  Imitating  Mohammed  in  polity  of 
government,  the  Mormons  obtain  some  of  the  results  of  Mos 
lem  rule.  All  know  that  there  is  not  so  much  crime  among 
Mussulmans  as  among  Christians,  still  but  few  Anglo-Saxons, 


114  MORMON      MYSTERIES. 

from  that  cause,  would  be  willing  to  become  Turks.  Under 
the  goad  and  lash  of  a  barbarous  overseer,  slaves  work  hard, 
produce  wealth ;  neither  murder,  rob  or  rape,  and  yet  few 
would  infer  that  therefore  this  overseer  was  a  benefit  to  the 
country,  or  an  institution  of  God.  To  secure  to  man  the 
liberty  of  progressing  in  powers  of  intellect,  in  discovery  of 
principles  or  their  application,  in  freedom  of  thought,  speech, 
and  action,  without  also  giving  him  greater  liberty  to  commit 
crime,  if  he  so  will,  is  impossible.  Opportunities  of  elevation 
and  degradation  must  be  equal.  Nations  renowned  for  their 
great  and  good,  have  also  become  infamous  for  their  bad 
men.  The  Hebrew  nation  itself,  when  its  opportunities 
and  its  greater  light  is  considered,  were  the  most  wicked 
people  on  the  earth.  Other  people  have  arisen,  and  lit  by 
the  star-glimmers  of  their  vague  intuitions,  have  culmi 
nated  to  their  meridian,  and  then  sank  into  the  silence  and 
obscurity  of  an  eternal  night ;  while  the  Hebrews,  whom 
God  has  endeavored  especially  to  direct  and  bless,  have  only 
left  an  equally  checkered  history,  bright  with  illustrious 
characters,  and  black  with  outrageous  sins.  At  either  side 
of  the  broad  line  of  mediocrity  there  is  an  infinite ;  and  the 
only  means  by  which  the  one  side  can  be  trodden  over,  is  by 
leaving  the  other  equally  free.  The  system,  therefore,  that 
degrades  all  men  to  one  miserable  level  of  fanaticism  and 
mental  debasement  is  fallacious,  however  successful  it  may 
be  in  the  suppression  of  a  few  of  the  worst  crimes.  To  repair 
a  partial  evil,  the  remedy  is  too  universally  applied.  To 
preserve  a  few  from  sinking  too  low,  all  have  to  be  prevented 
from  rising  at  all. 


CHAPTER  V. 

•  -•  -"  ' 
EDUCATION. 

"Working  men — School  systems — Braggadocio — School  teachers — Three 
months'  term,  and  nine  months'  vacation — Evening  schools — Dancing 
schools — 0.  Pratt  and  Brigham  Young — H.  0.  Kimball — Pratt's 
mathematical  class — Grammar  schools — Cultivated  female  society — 
Home  education — Female  lions — Literary  institutions — Novel  read 
ing— Deseret  alphabet — Newspapers — Book  of  Mormon — Doctrines 
and  covenants — New  translation  of  Bible — Book  of  Abraham — Key 
to  Apocalypse — Prophecy  of  Enoch — Gospel  of  Adam — Lex  ora,  v. 
lex  scripta — Controversial  works. 

THE  moral  and  mental  health  of  a  community  can  safely  be 
predicated  from  their  system  of  education.  The  physical  system 
is  relaxed  or  invigorated  according  to  the  nature  of  the  food 
we  eat,  and  so,  also,  the  mental  system  relies  on  its  aliments 
for  present  power  and  future  hope.  On  the  education  of  the 
boys  of  to-day  depends  the  nature  of  the  men  of  to-morrow. 
Thinking  men  discover  principles  of  nature,  working  men 
apply  them  to  the  purposes  of  art.  Brigham  Young  keeps 
the  people  of  Salt  Lake,  as  before  remarked,  constantly  at 
work.  He  aims  .at  making  them  working  men  and  women, 
and  has  succeeded.  In  the  attention  bestowed  on  physical 
education,  the  mental  and  moral  training  is  neglected.  It  is 
true  that  outside  of  Utah  they  boast,  and  in  Utah  they  talk, 
of  the  school  systems.  Orson  Pratt,  in  a  sermon  delivered  at 


116  EDUCATION. 

Salt  Lake  Tabernacle,  February  10, 1856,  very  aptly  remarked 
on  this  subject : 

"  Have  we  had  a  high  school  here  ?  Not  in  this  Valley. 
But,  says  one,  we  have  had  a  parent  school,  and  that  is  what 
we  consider  a  high  school.  Yes,  we  have  had  a  great  many 
things  in  name,  but  mere  name  is  not  what  is  wanted.  We 
have  had  a  university  in  name,  but  as  yet  we  have  had  no  such 
university. 

"  Have  we  colleges  ?  I  believe  none,  even  in  name.  Have 
we  had  academies  ?  I  believe  not.  If  we  have,  they  have 
been  very  inferior  to  those  in  the  eastern  States.  Go  to  the 
schools  in  the  New  England  States  and  see  the  order  that  is 
kept  in  them,  see  the  improvement  of  the  youth  who  are 
taught  in  them,  and  then  come  back  to  our  common  schools 
and  you  will  see  that  the  common  schools  of  the  East  will  far 
surpass  any  that  we  have  yet  had  in  our  Territory." — Deseret 
News,  May  14,  1856. 

The  "  authorities"  at  Salt  Lake  send  out  reports  of  univer 
sity  boards,  literary  and  scientific  institutes,  etc. ;  dub  men 
with  names  of  offices,  and  send  regents,  professors,  lecturers, 
etc.,  out  into  the  world ;  but,  as  Pratt  himself  is  forced  to  ac 
knowledge,  they  are  only  names. 

Their  system  of  education  is  eminently  practical,  but,  un 
fortunately,  any  thing  but  eminently  beneficial.  They  have 
in  Salt  Lake  City,  nineteen  school-houses,  one  in  each  ward. 
It  is  only  during  the  three  winter  months,  however,  that  a 
boys'  school  is  ever  attempted  to  be  kept.  During  the  other 
nine  months,  at  three  or  four  of  their  school-houses,  they  have 
endeavored  to  employ  a  female  teacher,  who  has  great  diffi 
culty  in  obtaining  a  class  of  little  children,  some  being  too 


EDUCATION.  117 

poor  to  afford  to  send  their  children  ;  some  being  too  idle  to 
get  them  ready ;  some  being  too  careless  whether  they  go  or 
not,  and  the  generality  regarding  it  as  only  one  mode  of 
getting  their  children  out  of  the  way!  No  respect  is  felt 
for  a  school-teacher ;  he  can  only  obtain  a  small  salary ; 
experiences  the  greatest  difficulty  in  procuring  it  after  it  be 
comes  duo ;  is  forced  to  take  as  "  pay,"  the  poorest  and  com 
monest  articles,  at  the  most  exorbitant  prices,  often  obliged 
to  take  "  trade"  he  does  not  need  at  all,  and  rely  on  bartering 
with  it  for  some  other  commodity  that  he  may  require,  or 
perhaps  trade  off  again,  and  even  after  all  this  "  trucking  and 
trading"  can  never  obtain  more  than  one  half  or  two  thirds 
his  due.  This  is  so  well  known  in  Utah  that  it  has  become  a 
common  expression  when  a  man  can  get  no  other  employ 
ment,  "  O  you  had  better  turn  school-teacher !"  or  when  a 
debt  is  extremely  bad,  and  its  recovery  almost  hopeless,  "  0  it 
is  just  like  a  school  debt."  From  these  reasons,  men  who 
could  at  all  teach,  never  attempt  it,  unless  compelled  by  pov 
erty,  and,  as  generally,  if  they  be  sufficiently  intelligent  to 
teach,  they  are  sufficiently  intelligent  to  obtain  some  other 
livelihood,  consequently  Mormon  school-teachers  are  usually 
very  ignorant  themselves. 

The  boys'  schools  continuing  only  for  three  months,  with 
an  interval  of  nine  months,  they  return' to  their  schools  in  the 
winter  nearly  as  ignorant  as  when  they  left  the  preceding 
spring.  All  the  work  of  education  has  to  be  nearly  recom 
menced  under  a  different  tutor,  each  one  having  his  own  pe 
culiar  style  of  instruction,  and  very  peculiar  those  styles  are 
too ;  confidence  has  to  be  established,  obedience  exacted,  and 


118  EDUCATION. 

attention  enforced,  and  the  struggle  between  the  large 
scholars  and  their  teachers  frequently  ends  in  the  triumph  of 
the  former  and  in  the  grieved  feelings  of  the  disgusted  and 
insulted  teacher,  who  often  resigns  before  his  term  of  three 
months  has  expired,  and  reproaches  himself  with  the  folly  of 
attempting  to  "  teach  a  school." 

In  most  instances  these  men  would  be  the  most  efficient ; 
men  of  some  sense  and  of  some  sensibility,  who  are  neither 
boxers  nor  wrestlers,  and  who  value  their  own  dignity  too 
highly  to  fight  with  their  pupils,  and  prove  their  superiority 
vi  et  armis.  I  could  mention  names  of  wards  in  which  such 
exhibitions  have  occurred.  Mr.  Pugh,  who  for  many  years 
was  the  principal  of  a  large  academy  in  Shropshire,  England, 
heard,  believed,  and  embraced  Mormonism  ;  emigrated  to  Salt 
Lake  with  his  family  in  1853  ;  and  was  persuaded  to  accept 
the  teachership  of  the  fourteenth  ward  school,  the  best  and 
largest  in  the  city.  The  trustees  promised  him  a  salary  of 
$50  per  month,  where  provisions  are  dearer  than  in  Cali 
fornia  !  When  his  three  months'  term  had  expired,  he  wasted 
as  much  time  in  trying  to  collect  the  sums  due  from  the 
parents  of  each  scholar,  and  in  1856  had  not  been  able  to 
obtain  more  than  two  thirds  of  the  amount. 

The  same  winter,  the  trustees  of  the  thirteenth  ward,  the 
wealthiest  in  Utah,  refused  to  pay  over  $30  per  month  to  their 
teacher,  and  Brigham  eventually  discharged  a  clerk  from  his 
office,  Mr.  Corey,  in  order  to  compel  him  to  teach  the  school, 
because  Corey  was  qualified,  and  Brigham  wanted  to  send  his 
children  there!  In  the  winter  of  1852-'53,  a  Mr.  E.  B. 
Kelsey  endeavored  to  establish  a  superior  kind  of  a  school. 


EDUCATION.  119 

Among  other  pupils  were  the  children  of  the  Presidents.  One 
of  Brig-ham's  sons  was  very  unruly,  and  refused  obedience. 
Kindness  being  inadequate,  Mr.  Kelsey  tried  the  ferule,  in 
tending  to  compel  the  submission  he  could  not  induce.  The 
boy  left  the  school  and  complained.  Instead  of  sustaining 
the  tutor  in  his  authority,  J.  M.  Grant,  on  a  Sabbath  fore 
noon,  before  several  thousand  persons,  laid  down  this  singular 
doctrine :  "  Some  children  are  bass-wood  and  may  be  bent,  but 
these  are  hickory  saplings,  and  they  can't  be  bent  or  whipped 
into  submission."  Protected  by  the> "  authorities"  in  their 
insubordination,  the  result  was  inevitable.  Mr.  Kelsey  threw 
up  his  school  and  wisely  turned  farmer.  In  the  winter  of 
1854-'55,  W.  Eddington,  a  school-teacher  from  Portsmouth, 
England,  attempted  to  establish  a  similar  institution.  He 
was  nearly  reduced  to  starvation,  as,  having  no  assistance,  he 
had  to  be  at  the  school-house.  If  he  attended  the  school,  he 
had  no  time  to  collect  his  fees ;  if  he  neglected  school,  they 
refused  to  pay ;  if  he  sent  an  agent,  they  either  ignored  the 
debt  or  plead  a  hundred  excuses.  From  instructing  the 
young  he  turned  to  be  a  small  peddler  in  every  thing,  on  the 
principle  of  universal  barter.  The  consequences  are  unmis 
takable.  Those  who  could  teach,  will  not.  Those  who  at 
tempt  to  teach,  can  not !  The  young,  therefore,  do  the  best 
they  know  hew,  and  that  is  always  the  very  worst  possible. 

There  is  yet  another  drawback  on  schools.  The  Mormons 
love  dancing.  Almost  every  third  man  is  a  fiddler,  and  every 
one  must  learn  to  dance.  This  is  old,  too,  for  Smith  used  to 
delight  some  beer-shop  loafers  at  Nauvoo  with  scraping  on 
catgut.  A  fiddling  Prophet !  School-houses  occupied  by  the 


120  EDUCATION. 

classes  during  the  day,  are  turned  into  dancing  academies  in 
the  evening.  There  are  many  who  can  afford  only  to  pay 
one  tutor.  Their  children  ought  to  learn  to  read,  but  they 
must  learn  to  dance.  The  children  themselves  urge  this  view 
very  strenuously.  The  dancing-master  must  be  paid  in  ad 
vance,  and  either  the  day-school  is  neglected,  or  else  the 
teacher  is  defrauded  of  his  remuneration.  In  the  winter  of 
1854-'55,  there  were  dancing-schools  in  almost  every  one  of 
the  nineteen  school-houses,  and  necessarily  so  much  more  at 
tention  to  dancing  involved  so  much  less  attention  to  study. 
Just  so  much  less  education,  and  just  so  much  more  injury. 

Many  abortive  attempts  have  been  made  to  institute  an 
evening  adult  school.  Every  such  endeavor  has  been  dis 
continued  after  a  few  evenings,  with  the  gloomy  announce 
ment  that  receipts  did  not  pay  for  fuel  and  candles.  The 
instigators  of  the  effort  have  been  forced  to  turn  to  other  oc 
cupations  in  order  to  maintain  themselves  from  hunger  and 
destitution.  Many  a  sigh  and  groan  have  been  breathed 
over  the  spade-handle  and  ax-helve  by  blister-handed  men ; 
who,  had  their  talents  been  employed  and  encouraged,  would 
have  benefited  the  Mormon  community.  Many  of  the  peo 
ple  express  satisfaction  in  seeing  these  "  better-dressed  fellers" 
obliged  to  "  nigger  it"  as  well  as  themselves ;  and  some  of 
them  will  come  and  slap  such  on  the  shoulder;  laugh  at 
their  awkwardness,  while  they  say  encouragingly,  "  Wall, 
bruther,  ye're  gwine  through  the  mill  now,  for  sarten — ye're 
a  cummin  down  from  yer  high  horse  to  be  one  on  us  ;  yer'll 
soon  be  perfec'  now  !"  This  is  by  no  means  a  rare  occurrence. 

But  what  is  the  conduct  of  the  "  authorities"  in  this  re- 


EDUC  ATIO  N.  121 

spect.  They  ought  not  to  be  accounted  responsible  for  the 
many  foolish  things  said  or  done,  especially  considering  the 
many  foolish  things  of  their  own  they  have  to  answer  for. 
Brigham  is  a  very  ignorant  man.  By  his  position  as  Prophet 
and  President,  he  considers  himself  the  only  proper  person  to 
commence  any  work,  originate  any  principle,  and  turn  on  the 
"gas"  for  the  listening  multitude.  For  another  to  assume 
this  privilege,  is  to  usurp  his  prerogative,  and  that  is  to 
illumine  his  ire,  and  to  awaken  his  power  of  prophetic  rebuke. 
One  Sunday  afternoon,  in  the  Bowery  of  Salt  Lake,  before 
3000  persons,  during  the  summer  of  1855,  O.  Pratt  was  ad 
dressing  the  people  on  the  necessity  of  studying  from  books. 
Said  he, 

"  Suppose  that  you  and  I  were  deprived  of  all  books,  and 
that  we  had  faith  to  get  revelation,  and  no  disposition  to  un 
derstand  that  which  has  been  sought  out,  understood,  and  re 
corded  in  books,  what  would  be  our  condition  ?  It  would 
require  an  indefinite  period  in  which  to  make  any  great  prog 
ress  in  the  knowledge  that  is  even  now  extant." 

Brigham  arose,  his  dignity  hurt,  his  temper  ruffled ;  and  he 
administered  to  Pratt,  the  presumptuous  offender,  the  most 
outrageous  tongue-lashing  I  ever  conceived  of.  He  said, 

"  The  professor  has  told  you  that  there  are  many  books  in 
the  world,  and  I  tell  you  there  are  many  people  in  the  world  ; 
he  says  there  is  something  in  all  these  books ;  I  say  each  one 
of  these  persons  has  a  name  ;  he  says  it  would  do  you  good 
to  learn  that  something,  and  I  say  it  would  do  you  just  as 
much  good  to  learn  these  somebodies'  names.  Were  I  to 
live  to  the  age  of  Methusaleh,  and  every  hour  of  my  life  learn 
something  new  out  of  some  one  of  these  books,  and  remember 

6 


122  EDUC  ATI  ON. 

every  particle  I  had  acquired,  five  minutes'  revelation  would 
teach  me  more  truth  and  more  right  than  all  this  pack  of 
nonsense  that  I  should  have  packed  into  my  unlucky  brains." 

Orson  Pratt  hung  his  head,  while  the  very  faithful  exulted 
in  this  defeat  of  Brigham's  favorite  antagonist.  This  cele 
brated  speech  was  much  talked  of  by  the  people.  It  was 
thought  best  not  to  publish  it,  however,  and  as  it  had  irritated 
the  public  mind,  and  weakened  rather  than  increased  Brig- 
ham's  influence,  he,  on  the  following  Sunday  morning,  paid 
Professor  Pratt  a  high  compliment,  and  called  on  him  to  de 
liver  "  a  lecture  on  astronomy"  instead  of  preach  a  sermon  ; 
which  accordingly  0.  Pratt  did.  Some  extolled  Brigham's 
magnanimity ;  others  slyly  laughed  at  his  astuteness ;  and 
a  very  few  made  a  memorandum  in  their  journals  of  the 
event,  and  asked,  What  next  ? 

Brigham  is  the  model  and  standard  of  every  thing.  It  is 
thought  that  as  the  keys  of  the  kingdom  give  all  knowledge, 
to  require  any  knowledge  but  that  which  comes  through  the 
holder  of  these  keys  is  apostacy.  His  fiat  revokes  all  science 
and  destroys  all  demonstration.  Now,  Brigham  not  being  an 
educated  man,  to  commence  to  educate  the  people  would  be 
compelled  to  ask  advice.  To  ask  advice  is  to  exhibit  inferi 
ority  ;  to  betray  inferiority  would  be  to  destroy  confidence  in 
himself,  as  far  as  that  inferiority  extended.  To  betray  inferi 
ority,  is  also  to  elevate  some  other  to  a  higher  position  than 
he  would  occupy,  to  the  extent  of  that  other's  acknowledged 
superiority.  To  sacrifice,  for  a  moment,  the  people's  un 
bounded  confidence,  is  to  peril  it  on  other  points.  Teach  the 
people  to  doubt  his  unlimited  authority,  is  to  teach  them  to 


EDUC  ATI  ON.  123 

compare  ;  to  excite  remark  •,  weaken  his  influence  and  destroy 
Mormonism.  Hence  Brigham  can  not  be  active  in  education 
measures.  He  can  only  talk  to  the  shallow  extent  of  his  own 
superficiality.  He  talks  about  it,  but  it  almost  stops  there. 

Heber  C.  Kimball,  the  second  man  in  the  Mormon  triad, 
not  only  does  not  possess,  but  openly  ridicules  education.  It 
is  a  remarkable  fact  that  all  educated  men  apostatize  from 
the  Mormon  Church  ;  and  this  is,  therefore,  a  remarkable 
argument  against  education.  To  retain  slaves,  they  must 
keep  them  ignorant.  The  mode  of  reasoning  adopted  by 
these  men  is  peculiar,  and  ridiculously  sophistical.  Mormon- 
ism,  say  they,  is  the  plan  of  salvation  instituted  by  God. 
Fidelity  to  it  i»,  therefore,  the  greatest  blessing  ;  infidelity  to 
it,  the  greatest  curse.  Any  thing  which  increases  faith  in,  or 
induces  obedience  to  it  is  a  good  ;  any  thing  which  inclines 
to  doubt  is  an  evil.  Now,  Gentilish  education  only  leads  its 
possessors  to  dispute  the  wisdom  of  the  authorities,  to  criticise 
their  sayings  and  scruple  at  their  deeds.  This  weakens  their 
own  faith  and  that  of  other  persons ;  consequently,  they 
conclude,  Gentile  education  is  a  positive  evil.  Kimball 
elaborated  this  idea  once  in  his  very  remarkable  style.  Said 
he: 

"  Here  are  some  edicated  men,  jest  under  my  nose.  They 
come  here  and  they  think  they  know  more  than  I  do,  and 
then  they  git  the  big-head,  and  it  swells  and  swells  till  it  gits 
like  the  old  woman's  squash  ;  you  go  to  touch  it  and  it  goes 
ker-smash,  and  when  you  go  to  look  for  the  man,  why,  he 
ain't  thar.  They  're  jest  like  so  many  pots  in  a  furnace — yer 
know  I've  been  a  potter,  in  my  time — almighty  thin  and 
almighty  big,  and  when  they  're  sot  up,  the  heat  makes  'em 


124  EDUCATION. 

smoke  a  little,  and  then  they  collapse  and  tumble  in,  and 
they  ain't  no  whar." 

These  coarse  but  forcible  comparisons  form  the  staple  of 
Heber  C.  Kimball's  ordinary  discourses. 

In  the  fall  of  1855,  O.  Pratt  volunteered  to  instruct  a  class 
in  the  higher  branches  of  arithmetic,  algebra,  and  mathe 
matics  ;  proposing  to  charge  only  enough  to  pay  for  lights. 
He  advertised  and  received  one  or  two  applications.  He 
then  offered,  by  advertisement,  to  provide  the  candles,  fuel, 
and  room ;  and  to  teach  the  class  gratis,  if  he  could  obtain 
twenty  scholars,  of  any  age  or  either  sei.  Not  content  with 
this,  as  he  was  desirous  to  induce  the  young  to  such  studies, 
he  agreed  to  suit  his  evenings  to  the  convenience  of  the 
largest  number  of  the  scholars  ;  only  stipulating  their  regular 
attendance  if  they  promised  to  come.  One  of  the  last  ques 
tions  I  put  to  Orson  Pratt,  before  leaving  Salt  Lake  City  was, 
"  How  many  applications  did  you  receive  ?"  To  this  he  re 
plied,  "  Only  three  or  four  !"  The  class  was  never  organized. 
I  have  heard  some  of  the  "  very  faithful"  predict  the  final 
apostacy  of  this  learned  and  talented,  though  grievously  mis 
taken  gentleman,  in  consequence,  they  say,  of  his  education. 
"  It  will  lift  him  up,  till  he  topples  over." 

Several  have  essayed  to  establish  grammar  schools. 
Strange  have  been  the  remarks  they  caused ;  bringing  both 
sexes  together,  they  have  occasioned  many  a  suspicious  hus 
band  to  be  jealous  of  his  wife.  The  attendance  has  dwindled 
down  to  one  or  two,  the  most  disgusting  jokes  perpetrated  in 
them,  and  their  entire  utility  questioned.  One  man,  who 
stands  high  in  authority,  argued  in  this  wise  : 


EDUCATION.  125 

"  The  Sperit  is  a  gwine  to  lead  and  to  guide  us  into  all 
truth,  yer  know.  Now,  if  grammar  is  truth,  why,  the  Sperit 
will  jest  lead  us  into  it  a  kinder  nateral  like :  and  if  it  ain't 
truth,  it 's  no  use,  and  I  ain't  a  gwine  to  bother  my  brains  and 
pay  my  money  about  it." 

Even  the  editor  of  their  paper,  the  "  Deseret  News,"  denies 
all  originality  of  thought.  Denying  it,  of  course,  he  is  never 
guilty  of  it  in  his  newspaper. 

A  great  incentive,  perhaps  the  greatest  incentive  to  educa 
tion,  is  a  cultivated  class  of  females.  The  natural  proclivity 
of  one  sex  for  the  other  maintains  a  constant  action,  and 
induces  by  rivalry,  great  efforts  at  personal  improvement. 
Men  always  assimilate  with  the  society  kept,  as  certainly  as 
those  who  walk  constantly  together  adopt  each  other's  gait 
and  carriage.  Intellectual  female  society,  the  great  polisher 
of  manners,  sharpener  of  wit,  purifier  of  sentiment,  and  re 
finer  of  expression  is,  at  Salt  Lake,  entirely  unknown.  Not 
only  is  it  unknown,  but  despised,  and  called  "  Gentilish  affecta 
tion."  To  be  esteemed  by  the  people,  all  must  be  esteemed 
by  the  authorities.  To  obtain  their  approval,  they  must  feign 
entire  inferiority,  by  simulating  entire  reverence  for  them. 
This  might  not  be  difficult  if  their  minds  were  cultivated  or 
their  habits  even  decent.  Conversation  the  most  filthy,  ob 
scene  anecdotes,  jests,  and  allusions  form  much  capital  in  the 
stock  of  Brigham  and  Heber.  Indeed  I  have  often  heard  it 
said  praisingly  of  Brigham,  that  he  can  "  tell  the  dirtiest  story 
in  the  dirtiest  way."  To  stand  well  with  them,  all  must  sink 
to  the  level  of  their  social  habits ;  not  to  stand  well  with 
them  is  not  to  stand  well  in  the  estimation  of  the  people,  and 
that  is  to  be  suspected  and  annoyed. 


126  EDUCATION. 

So  complete  is  this  mental  sycophancy,  that  however  trivial 
or  serious  be  the  subject  a  party  may  be  considering,  if  any  one 
has  heard  Brigham  or  Heber  express  an  opinion  on  the  topic, 
all  discussion  is  discontinued.  I  once  listened  in  one  of  "  the 
schools  for  the  prophets"  to  some  remarks  from  W.  C.  Dun- 
bar,  a  more  than  ordinarily  intelligent  Mormon.  He  proved 
his  position,  I  thought  satisfactorily ;  an  American  Elder 
however  told  him,  that  "  Brigham  taught  the  contrary  doc 
trine."  Said  this  mental  Colossus,  "  If  he  said  so,  he  must 
be  right,  and  I  withdraw  my  argument !" 

One  very  striking  illustration  of  this  mental  abnegation 
occurred  in  the  late  Dr.  Kichards's  office  in  1854.  Mr. 
Thomas  Bullock,  Mr.  Leo  Hawkins  and  some  others  were 
talking  to  Kimball  about  the  resurrection.  The  Mormons 
believe  in  a  literal  physical  resurrection,  and  were  desirous  to 
learn  "  Whether,  when  the  body  came  forth  from  the  grave, 
it  would  leave  a  visible  hole  in  the  ground  ?"  "  No,"  said 
Kimball,  "  not  at  all,  the  atoms  will  be  reunited,  and  they 
won't  leave  no  hole."  He  proceeded  to  explain  his  reasons 
for  this  opinion,  and  presently  Brigham  came  in,  when  this 
important  question  was  referred  to  him  for  his  prophetic 
decision. 

"  Why,  yes,  certainly  it  will,"  was  his  verdict.  "  Christ  is 
the  pattern,  you  know ;  and  he  had  to  have  the  stone  rolled 
away  from  the  sepulchre,  and  that  left  the  hole  visible,  for 
did  not  the  soldiers  see  it  ?" 

"  Brother  Brigham,"  immediately  cried  Kimball,  "  that  is 
just  my  opinion !" 

Orson  Hyde,  the  President  of  the  Twelve   Apostles,  has 


EDUCATION.  127 

endeavored  to  set  a  better  example  to  the  Saints.  Himself 
and  daughters  assumed  a  more  cultivated  style,  but  it  is  the 
common  significant  remark,  "  The  Elder  was  always  a  little 
Gentilish  in  his  feelings." 

The  greatest  of  all  education  is  "  home  education."  Home 
education  depends  upon  the  mother.  Where  the  woman  is 
degraded,  there  is  no  home  education. 

"  To  teach  girls  to  sow,  and  weave,  and  work  in  the  gardes, 
and  cook,  and  be  smart  in  the  dairy,  and  neat  about  the  house, 
is  the  best  education,"  says  Brigham ;  "  stuff  their  heads  with 
reading  and  they  go  to  novels  and  romances,  and  such  like 
trash,  and  neglect  their  duties,  and  they  won't  be  obedient 
to  their  husbands  and  fathers.  Teach  them  to  work — teach 
them  to  work." 

This  is  good  practical  philosophy,  but  it  is  only  half  the 
truth.  There  is  but  one  step  from  neglect  of,  to  contempt 
of  education.  It  is  so  at  Salt  Lake.  Women  who  are 
taught  to  believe  that  the  "husband's  power  is  absolute," 
and  that  all  "  their  sins  committed  in  obedience  to  their 
husband's  commands,  are  borne  by  their  husbands,"  care 
nothing  for  self-education,  and  as  little  for  the  instruction  of 
their  daughters.  The  few  persons  who  go  there,  who  are  a 
little  superior,  are  mocked.  They  are  the  "  speckled  sheep  ;" 
the  hearts  which  still  cling  to  "  Gentile  customs  and  notions 
of  things."  -  "  They  look  back  to  the  flesh-pots  of  Egypt." 
"  The  leaven  of  the  gospel  has  only  partially  worked  in  them." 
Their  apostacy  is  predicted,  and  any  influence  they  might  ob 
tain,  crushed  out.  Oases  in  a  desert,  a  thousand  hands  heap 
sand  upon  them.  Hence  the  women  who  endeavor  to  make 


128  EDUCATION. 

a  reputation  for  mind  are  the  most  rabidly  fanatical.  Miss 
Eliza  R.  Snow,  the  Mormon  poetess,  a  very  talented  woman,  but 
outrageously  bigoted,  and  one  or  two  kindred  souls,  are  the 
nuclei  for  all  the  female  intellect  at  Salt  Lake.  Let  any 
recant  from  their  creed,  or  oppose  it,  she  and  her  band  of 
second  Amazons  crush  the  intrepid  one  down.  In  the  society 
of  such  women  the  Mormon  youth  stand  abashed  and  terrified, 
like  small  children  who,  it  is  said,  "  ought  to  be  seen  but  not 
heard." 

Another  element  has  been  lately  introduced  into  Utah 
society.  Mormonism  is  too  well  known  in  America  to  attract 
any  but  the  most  ignorant  to  its  standard.  Mormonism  in 
England,  atrociously  misrepresented,  has  attracted  some  rather 
better  informed  people.  Among  these  are  the  printers  of 
Utah,  all  Englishmen ;  these  tried  to  organize  a  "  Typographi 
cal  Association,"  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  a  library,  hear 
ing  lectures,  and  procuring  scientific  apparatus,  etc.  They 
succeeded  in  getting  up  some  balls,  which  was  far  more  in 
unison  with  Mormon  prejudices ;  drawing  up  a  constitution, 
etc.,  etc.,  all  in  due  form.  They  got  their  society  very  ad 
mirably  on  to  paper,  but  could  get  it  no  further.  A.  Carring- 
ton  advertised  a  lecture  for  their  behalf,  and  could  not  obtain 
a  sufficient  number  of  persons  to  make  an  audience.  Another 
institution  arose,  called  "The  Deseret  Universal  Scientific." 
Officers  were  elected,  constitution  framed,  prospects  and  pro 
jects  blazed  forth  in  double  capitals  in  their  journal,  but,  like 
a  choke-damp,  made  much  noise,  emitted  much  "  gas,"  but 
settled  down  in  smoke.  Elder  E.  Snow,  one  of  the  Twelve 
Apostles,  then  organized  another  institution  in  1855,  and 


EDUCATION.  129 

called  it  by  a  name  that  was  new-coined  for  it  by  Phelps,  the 
Mormon  devil,  "  The  Polysophical  Society."  Its  birth  quick 
ened  other  mushroom  children  of  this  humid  soil.  The 
"  Seventies'  Variety  Club"  was  organized  among  a  class  of 
Elders ;  dragged  out  its  length  over  two  meetings,  and  ex 
pired.  The  "  Deseret  Universal  Scientific"  was  resuscitated, 
but  only  to  die  again.  Brigham  grew  envious  of  these  little 
pistolets,  and  resolved  to  assume  his  position,  and  lead  in  this 
as  in  all  other  things,  and  fired  off  his  big  gun.  He  founded 
an  institution !  Its  officers  were  the  chief  dignitaries.  Its 
object  "  universal  truth."  Its  name  "  The  Theological  Insti 
tution."  But  Brigham  found  that  his  Elders  could  only  preach 
"sermons"  after  the  approved  Mormon  style.  The  people 
had  enough  of  that  on  Sunday,  and  failed  to  attend  the  meet 
ings,  and  so  the  "  Theological"  went  out.  The  death  of  this 
was  followed  by  the  decease  of  all  the  rest.  Some  young 
men,  however,  tried  again  to  bring  an  institution  into  life,  and 
a  "  Deseret  Literary  and  Musical  Society"  was  commenced. 
I  attended  the  organization  meetings,  and  the  great  fear  we 
all  felt  was,  that  perhaps  Brigham  and  the  authorities  might 
patronize  the  institution,  so  it  was  agreed  not  to  ask  "  counsel" 
on  the  subject,  but  let  it  stand  or  fall  by  its  own  merits.  It 
was  dreaded  that  Brigham  might  nurse  this  to  death  ;  and, 
without  asking  his  consent,  they  commenced  their  meetings. 
It  flourished  pleasantly ;  but  I  observed  that  Brigham  began 
to  pet  it  last  summer,  and  I  presume  it  has  followed  the  path 
of  its  defunct  predecessors. 

There  are  very  few  books  in  Utah.     Very  few  persons  are 
rich  enough  to  carry  libraries  over  the  plains.     There  is  a 

6* 


130  EDUCATION. 

public  library,  however,  for  which  Congress  appropriated 
$20,000.  It  is  tolerably  well  selected,  but  is  necessarily 
small,  and  but  very  little  used  by  the  people.  Sympathizing  in 
Brigham's  views  as  to  the  futility  of  acquiring  knowledge  out 
of  books,  of  course  they  do  not  allow  their  practice  to  disprove 
their  faith.  He  often  tells  the  people,  "  When  you  come 
here,  you  have  got  to  unlearn  all  you  have  ever  learned,  and 
begin  to  learn  all  again.  The  Gentiles  put  light  for  darkness, 
and  darkness  for  light,  and  we've  got  to  turn  you  right  round." 
Consequently,  many  would  rather  not  attempt  to  obtain  any 
book-information,  believing  it  better  not  to  be  informed  at  all 
than  to  be  incorrectly  informed. 

While  those  works  that  could  instruct  or  improve  them  are 
neglected,  works  of  fiction  are  very  ravenously  sought  for  and 
devoured.  The  most  trashy  feuilleton  is  carefully  preserved 
and  constantly  lent  around.  Over  their  lascivious  and 
ridiculous  pages  the  Mormon  women  pore  and  prose  with  ex 
travagant  zest,  till  Brigham's  wholesale  condemnation  is  de 
served,  "  their  reading  only  fills  their  head  with  trash  and 
nonsense."  While,  however,  this  is  their  real  practice,  in 
their  WORKS  they  endeavor  to  impress  a  contrary  lesson.  In 
Smith's  Revelations  there  is  an  express  command,  "  Get  learn 
ing,  even  by  study ;"  but  almost  side  and  side  with  this  law, 
there  is  the  command,  "  Thou  shalt  love  thy  wife  with  all  thy 
heart,  and  cleave  unto  her,  and  none  else  /"  How  much  re 
spect  the  Mormons  pay  to  the  commands  of  their  deity,  is 
very  apparent. 

But  still  the  Mormons  have  done  something.  One  notable 
enterprise  must  be  remembered.  Brigham  does  not  know 


EDUCATION.  131 

how  to  spell,  finds  it  very  difficult  indeed  to  spell,  yet  in  his 
broad  spirit  of  philanthropy,  has  endeavored  to  correct  English 
orthography.  With  some  very  original  emendations,  he  has 
adopted  Pitman's  system  of  phonographic  spelling,  as  the 
basis  of  the  "  Deseret  alphabet."  Lines  that  would  frighten 
Hogarth,  and  that  would  puzzle  even  Pitman's  pliant  hand  to 
form,  were  adopted.  This  is  nearly  all  the  pretentious  named 
"  Board  of  Regents  of  the  Deseret  University"  have  accom 
plished  since  their  organization  ;  and  this,  like  the  other  liter 
ary  efforts  of  the  Mormons,  although  blazoned  forth,  fonts  of 
the  new  type  made,  and  schools  instituted  to  teach  it,  has  re 
sumed  its  proper  level.  It  began  in  a  flash  and  ended  in 
smoke  ;  "  went  up  a  rocket  and  came  down  a  stick." 

As  to  their  own  literature,  they  publish  a  weekly  paper  at 
Salt  Lake,  which  is  almost  wholly  filled  with  the  autobiogra 
phy  of  Smith,  and  sermons  of  the  "  First  Presidency."  It 
neither  gives  honest  reports  of  speeches,  nor  correct  state 
ments  of  facts.  Much  talk  has  been  made  about  getting  up  a 
separate  paper,  devoted  to  scientific  and  literary  purposes ;  but 
its  friends  are  afraid  the  Church  might  become  so  fond  of  it, 
as  to  hug  it  to  death,  as  it  has  their  literary  institutions. 
They  publish  a  weekly  sheet  at  San  Francisco,  California.  Its 
editor,  workmen,  and  even  devil,  are  all  "  on  mission  ;"  get 
nothing  but  food  and  raiment ;  but  are  "  therewith  content." 
Their  sincerity  can  not  be  doubted,  whatever  be  said  of  their 
intellect.  The  "  Mormon"  dribbles  out  its  weekly  quantum  of 
saintly  notice  and  opinion  at  New  York.  A  "  Luminary" 
hardly  lit  its  own  path  into  obscurity  at  St.  Louis,  Mo.  At 
Liverpool  they  publish  a  "  Millennial  Star."  By  compelling 


132  EDUCATION. 

the  believing  to  take  several  copies,  they  say  they  have  a  cir 
culation  of  over  16,000.  At  Paris  they  published  "  L'Etoile  du 
Deseret,"  but  the  star  has  set.  "  Zion's  Panier"  floated  at 
Hamburg :  a  month's  wind  blew  it  into  shreds.  They  still 
publish  periodicals  in  the  Welsh  and  Danish  languages. 

Of  their  standard  works,  the  Book  of  Mormon,  although 
most  mentioned,  is  not  the  principal.  The  Doctrines  and 
Covenants,  containing  some  of  the  Revelations  that  Smith 
pretended  to  obtain,  is  viewed  as  the  "  law  of  God  to  this 
generation."  Its  contents  are  very  miscellaneous,  comprising 
the  organization  of  the  Church  ;  revelations  as  to  priesthood, 
and  cattle  medicine ;  chewing  tobacco,  and  sending  out  mis 
sionaries  ;  "  endowments  from  on  high,"  and  "  building  tav 
erns  ;"  "  supplying  all  the  wants  of  my  servant  Joseph  ;"  and 
anathematizing  apostates,  etc.,  etc.  Besides  these,  Smith 
attempted  a  new  translation  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments. 
This  translation,  however,  is  kept  very  secret,  the  people  "  not 
being  able  to  bear  it  now."  Some  singular  extracts  from 
it  have  reached  their  presses,  but  the  impression  they 
created  was  not  favorable.  More  than  Jew  ever  read,  or 
Christian  ever  conceived,  and  far  more  than  Hebrew  or 
Greek  MS.  ever  contained,  is  to  be  seen  in  Smith's  new  trans 
lation  of  the  Bible.  While  at  Nauvoo  Smith  obtained  four 
Egyptian  mummies.  In  the  bosom  of  one  of  them,  a  MS. 
was  pretended  to  be  found.  Smith  gave  out  that  he  made 
a  "  translation"  and  the  result  was,  "  A  Book  of  Abraham." 
He  announced  it  ("  Times  and  Seasons,"  vol.  iii.,  p.  704),  "A 
Translation  of  some  Ancient  Records  that  have  fallen  into 
our  hands  from  the  catacombs  of  Egypt,  purporting  to  be 


EDUCATION.  133 

the  writings  of  Abraham,  while  he  was  in  Egypt,  called  the 
Book  of  Abraham,  written  by  his  own  hand  on  papyrus." 
This  was  received  with  especial  unction  by  the  devout.  Al 
though  evidently  the  work  of  the  same  hand  as  the  Book  of 
Mormon,  Smith  had  somewhat  improved  himself  in  the  use 
of  words.  It  contains  several  singular  engravings,  a  chart 
of  astronomy,  and  is  altogether  quite  unique.  The  Apoc 
alypse  of  St.  John  occupied  the  attention  of  Smith,  and  he 
composed  "  A  Key  to  the  Book  of  Revelations."  The  Bible- 
student  would  be  startled  at  some  of  its  views.  As  Smith 
had  to  labor  to  sustain  his  reputation  as  a  prophet,  accord 
ingly,  in  December,  1830,  he  issued  a  Revelation,  pretending 
to  contain  a  "prophecy  of  Enoch,"  "A  revelation  of  the 
gospel  to  Adam  after  he  was  driven  out  of  the  Garden  of 
Eden."  These,  which  are  of  course  morceaux  choisies  to  the 
Church,  have  been  collected  and  bound  together  into  a  little 
work  called  the  "  Pearl  of  Great  Price." 

But,  happily  for  the  Church,  they  are  not  at  all  limited  to 
their  leges  scriptce.  O.  Hyde,  at  Iowa,  taught  that  "  these 
books  were  only  our  school-books,  and  as  boys  put  away 
their  elementary  books,  so  Saints  should  learn  to  put  away 
and  live  above  these."  This  is  very  convenient  doctrine,  as 
too  close  a  scrutiny  in  their  book  of  Smith's  Revelations, 
proves  him  a  very  singular  prophet ;  showing  that  Missouri 
was  Zion ;  then  JSTauvoo  was  Zion ;  then  Mormon  salvation 
depended  on  building  "  Smith's  Tavern,"  and  as  it  was  not 
built,  all  the  Mormons  must  be  damned,  according  to  Smith  ! 
And  now  Missouri  is  not  Zion,  and  Nauvoo  is  not  Zion,  al 
though  they  were  both  to  be  "  eternal  habitations  for  my 


134  EDUCATION. 

Saints,  saith  the  Lord,"  but  Salt  Lake  is  Zion,  about  which 
the  "  Book"  says  nothing.  The  great  criteria  and  guide  to 
the  Church,  however,  is,  constant  and  oral  revelation. 

"  The  words  of  our  Prophet  Brigham  are  as  much  more 
important  to  us  than  those  of  the  Saviour  and  Apostles  in  the 
New  Testament,  as  their  words  were  to  the  people  at  that 
time  more  than  those  of  Noah  in  the  Old  Testament." 

This  is  the  doctrine  constantly  urged,  and  believed ;  hence, 
Brigham's  sermons  are  all  revelations,  and,  consequently, 
standard  works  for  the  Church.  It  is  rather  amusing  to 
notice  how  frequently  those  revelations  of  Brigham  contradict 
themselves  and  all  reason. 

Of  their  standard  controversial  works,  P.  P.  Pratt's  "  Voice 
of  Warning"  is  the  most  popular.  O.  Pratt's  works  are 
the  most  able.  A  great  spite  is  felt  toward  0.  Pratt  at  Salt 
Lake,  in  consequence  of  his  refusing  to  blindly  submit  to  the 
mere  ipse  dixit  of  Young.  He  published  the  "  Seer"  at  Wash 
ington  ;  and  although  it  was  the  production  of  an  inspired 
Apostle,  Brigham  not  only  publicly  ridiculed  it  and  its  author, 
but  also  wrote  to  the  "  Saints  in  England  and  elsewhere," 
that  it  contained  "  many  falsehoods,  and  much  incorrect  doc 
trine  ;  but  that  they  might  exercise  their  faith  and  discern 
ment,  he  would  not  point  out  its  errors."  This  letter  was 
published  in  the  "  Millennial  Star"  at  Liverpool  by  Brigham's 
direction.  Orson  Pratt's  influence  was  great  in  England; 
he  was  a  little  contumacious  at  home,  and  it  was  thought 
"wisdom  to  somewhat  break  him  down."  O.  Pratt  is  the 
only  really  able  man  they  have  among  them, "  but  his  head  is 


EDUCATION.  135 

always  among  the  stars,"  his  love  and  hobby  being  the  study 
of  astronomy. 

The  late  Parley  P.  Pratt,  something  of  a  poet,  something 
of  a  preacher,  very  much  of  a  panderer,  and  a  bad  man,  has 
written  a  singular  work,  "  The  Key  to  Theology,"  about  which 
much  expectation  was  excited,  and  much  disappointment 
felt.  Andrew  Jackson  Davis  has  contributed  no  little  to  its 
matter  and  style.  The  Mormons  have  other  and  less  im 
portant  works ;  an  ephemeral  effort  of  J.  Taylor,  "  The  Gov 
ernment  of  God,"  and  several  pamphlets. 

The  literature  of  the  Mormons  is  like  their  preaching. 
What  is  lacked  in  ability,  is  made  up  in  earnestness.  The 
singular  success  their  Elders  have  met  in  proselyting,  abund 
antly  proves  that  sincere  enthusiasm  is  a  very  formidable 
weapon.  It  is  a  pity  such  earnestness  and  sincerity  were  not 
exercised  in  a  better  cause. 


CHAPTER   VI. 


BRIGHAM     YOUNG     AT     HOME. 

His  biography — Birth  and  education — Embraces  Mormonism — Meets 
Smith  the  Prophet — Journey  to  Missouri — Is  ordained  an  Apostle — 
Preaches — Appointed  President  of  the  Apostles — Flies  for  his  life — 
Re-lays  foundation  of  Temple  in  Jackson  county,  Mo. — Mission  to 
England — Returns  to  .Nauvoo — Brigham  and  Smith — Brigham  and 
Sidney  Rigdon — Builds  up  Nauvoo — Conducts  emigration — Mormon 
Battalion — Salt  Lake  City — Brigham's  leadership — Appointed  Presi 
dent  of  Church — Quarrels  with  Judges  and  expels  them — Colonel 
Steptoe — ModiLS  operandi — Should  he  die,  fate  of  the  Church — Per 
sonal  appearance — In  council  and  in  pulpit — Satellites  to  this  planet 
— His  manners — Style  of  oratory — As  a  writer — As  a  husband  and 
father — Domesticities — His  wives — His  favorite  Women — Courting 
the  men — Occupation  and  property — Universal  confidant  and  adviser 
— Administrative  blunders — Secret  of  success. 

BRIGHAM  YOUNG,  the  President  of  the  Mormon  Church  and 
Governor  of  Utah  Territory,  was  born  at  Whittenham,  Ver 
mont,  June  1,  1801,  and  is,  consequently,  now  fifty-six  years 
of  age.  His  father  was  a  farmer,  and  had  been  a  soldier  of 
the  Revolution.  The  whole  family  moved  to  the  State  of 
New  York  in  1802.  Brigham's  youth  was  occupied  by  the 
ordinary  pursuits  of  a  farmer's  son ;  familiarized  with  tools 
and  accustomed  to  hard  work. 

In  the  year  1832,  being  then  thirty-one  years  old,  he  heard 


BEIGHAM     YOUNG     AT     HOME.  137 

and  embraced  Mormonism.  He  was  convinced  by  Elder 
Samuel  H.  Smith,  brother  to  the  Prophet,  Joseph  Smith,  who 
has  since  apostatized,  and  was  baptized  by  Eleazar  Miller, 
now  at  Salt  Lake.  Brigham  gathered  with  the  Saints  to 
Kirtland,  Ohio,  in  September  of  the  same  year,  'and  soon  be 
came  intimate  with  Joseph  Smith.  He  was  ordained  an  Elder, 
and  began  preaching.  His  shrewd  views  of  policy,  and 
almost  intuitive  knowledge  of  character,  soon  attracted  atten 
tion  and  favor  among  the  small  and  despised  Church.  Illiter 
ate,  among  the  ignorant  his  lack  of  education  passed  un 
noticed  and  unknown.  He  accompanied  Smith,  in  1834, 
from  Ohio  to  Jackson  county,  Missouri,  with  the  companies 
who  "  went  for  the  relief  of  the  Saints,"  who  had  just  been 
driven  out  of  that,  into  Clay  county.  He  had  become  a 
marked  and  prominent  man.  Eminently  practical  and  far- 
seeing,  at  a  time  too  when  practical  ability  of  any  kind  was 
much  needed  to  meet  the  exigences  of  the  Church,  then  be 
ing  driven,  starving  and  naked,  in  the  winter  season,  from 
their  homes  to  suffer  and  several  to  die ;  he  made  his  presence 
felt  in  the  Church,  and  was  regarded  as  one  of  the  men  of 
Mormonism.  Accordingly,  in  1835,  on  the  14th  of  February, 
at  Kirtland,  Ohio,  Brigham  Young,  then  thirty-four  years  of 
age,  was  ordained  one  of  the  newly-organized  quorum  of  the 
Twelve  Apostles  ;  he  having  been  previously  designated  by  a 
special  revelation,  that  Smith  pretended  to  obtain.  Under 
the  hands  of  the  three  witnesses  of  the  Book  of  Mormon,  all 
of  whom  subsequently  apostatized,  Brigham  was  ordained  and 
set  apart  to  his  office.  The  Twelve  were  sent  from  Kirtland, 
in  March,  to  different  parts  of  the  States,  and  Brigham,  firmly 


138  BRIGHAM     YOUNG     AT     HOME. 

believing  in  the  authority,  and  enthusiastically  devoted  to  the 
person  of  Smith,  as  well  as  fully  convinced  of  his  being  in 
reality  an  Apostle,  and  equal  with  Paul  or  John  in  the  eyes  of 
God,  went  out  to  preach.  He  traveled  through  the  eastern 
States,  and  proselyted  with  much  zeal  and,  therefore,  with 
much  success.  Not  only  had  he  been  ordained  to  the  apos- 
tleship,  but  had  subsequently  received  an  especial  blessing  de 
signed  to  peculiarly  aid  and  comfort  him  in  his  travels  at  this 
particular  time. 

When  the  Kirtland  Temple  was  completed,  in  1836,  we 
find  Brigham's  name  as  being  present  at  its  dedication.  A 
great  many  of  the  Saints  on  that  occasion,  were  seized,  as  the 
Irvingites,  with  an  uncontrollable  desire  to  utter  unknown 
sounds,  called  "  the  gift  of  tongues."  Brigham,  among  others, 
was  thus  favored,  and  this,  more  than  ever,  confirmed  him  in 
the  faith  and  inspired  him  with  renewed  zeal  to  "  bring  many 
to  the  knowledge  of  the  truth."  He  continued  to  labor  ar 
dently  in  the  Mormon  ministry. 

In  1837,  Smith's  bank,  "  The  Safety  Society  Bank  of  Kirt 
land,"  failed  ;  his  stores  were  seized,  and  goods  sold,  and  him 
self  (Smith)  was  forced  to  fly  by  night,  to  avoid  arrest,  and 
very  likely  being  mobbed.  Brigham  Young  accompanied 
this  second  Mohammed,  in  this  second  Hegira,  and  Missouri 
was  the  Medina  that  opened  its  gates  to  receive  them.  A 
new  revelation  was  obtained,  and  Brigham  was  commanded 
to  make  his  home  in  this  State  of  Missouri. 

Thomas  B.  Marsh,  the  President  of  the  Twelve  Apostles,  had 
apostatized,  finding  Mormonism  too  bad  a  faith,  or  Smith  too 
bad  a  Prophet.  Brigham  Young  who,  by  having  "  preached 


BRIGHAM     YOUNG     AT     HOME.  139 

in  tongues'*  to  the  Saints,  who  did  not  understand  him  though, 
in  183G,  and  having  abundantly  proven  his  practical  supe 
riority,  was  appointed  President  of  the  Twelve  Apostles  in 
Marsh's  stead. 

Then  came  the  dark  days  of  Mormonism  ;  days  that  proved 
Smith's  tact  and  talent  severely.  Orson  Hyde,  the  present 
"  President  of  the  Twelve,"  had  apostatized,  and  testified 
against  Smith.  W.  "W.  Phelps,  the  present  Mormon  devil, 
almanac  maker,  "Brigham's  jester,"  etc.,  had  made  affidavits 
against  the  Church.  The  Pratts  were  wavering ;  Dr.  Arvard, 
a  prominent  member  of  the  Danite  band,  had  exposed  the 
hidden  machinery  of  Mormonism.  Almost  alone,  and  dis 
couraged,  Smith  was  arrested.  Brigham  fled  to  save  his  life, 
on  September  14,  1838.  He  reached  Illinois  in  safety,  met 
with  the  Twelve  at  Quincy,  HI.,  in  council,  transacted  some 
"  Church"  business  and  returned  to  Far  West,  where,  in  com 
pany  with  several  of  the  Apostles  and  "  other  brethren,"  he 
assisted  to  re-lay  the  foundation  of  the  Temple  at  "  The  New 
Jerusalem"  in  Independence,  Jackson  Co.,  Mo.  This  was  done 
at  midnight  on  the  25th  and  26th  of  March,  1839.  In  the 
darkness  of  a  gloomy  night,  surrounded  by  enemies  who  had 
sworn  to  take  their  lives,  who  had  previously  driven  them 
from  their  habitations,  that  lay  in  ruins  silently  around  them, 
these  men  met  to  perform  fantastic  rites  for  a  fanatic  object. 
However  much  one  may  denounce  their  malpractices,  or  de 
plore  their  delusion,  he  can  not  but  admire  the  stern  intre 
pidity  of  these  fearless  and  foolish  men. 

On  14th  September,  1839,  Brigham  was  appointed  with 
others,  by  Joseph  Smith,  to  go  to  "  open  England  by  preach- 


140  BRIGHAM     YOUNG    AT     HOME. 

ing  the  gospel."  They  landed  at  Liverpool  on  6th  April, 
1840,  partook  of  the  sacrament,  and  commenced  preaching. 
As  they  were  penniless,  and  depended  entirely  on  the  charity 
of  their  audiences,  then  very  poor  and  very  small,  Brigham 
suffered  much  and  often.  He  here  superintended  affairs, 
issued  an  edition  of  the  Book  of  Mormon,  and  commenced 
the  publication  of  the  Millennial  Star,  a  weekly  periodical 
still  living.  He  found  that  gullibility  formed  a  strong  in 
gredient  in  the  characters  of  residents  of  the  old  as  well  as 
new  countries.  He  shipped  off,  to  Nauvoo,  111.,  seven  hun 
dred  and  sixty-nine  of  the  faithful  who  had  been  converted  to 
Mormonism ;  and  on  April  20,  1841,  Brigham  sailed  for  New 
York,  leaving  behind  him  many  Mormon  Churches  with  or 
ganizations  completed. 

His  value  was  felt  and  appreciated.  Smith  received  him 
cordially  at  Nauvoo,  in  the  July  following,  and  all  the  Saints 
applauded  him  very  warmly.  Although  it  is,  and  always  has 
been,  Mormon  policy  that  there  should  be  but  one  head,  and 
he  the  all  in  all  of  the  Church  ;  yet,  in  April,  1843,  Brigham 
was  possessed  of  influence  sufficient  to  even  grapple  with 
Smith,  as  to  the  trustworthiness  of  the  Twelve.  Smith",  who 
had  trained  Brigham,  had  to  yield  to  the  pupil  he  had 
educated. 

The  summers  were  spent  by  Brigham  in  preaching,  in 
which  his  handsome  face  and  pleasing  manners  obtained  him 
much  success ;  his  winters,  in  attending  to  the  necessities  of 
his  wives  and  children. 

It  was  June,  1844.  Smith  was  shot.  The  Twelve  Apostles 
were  scattered  in  different  places.  Nauvoo  was  threatened. 


BRIGHAM     YOUNG    AT     HOME.  141 

Illinoians  were  alarmed.  The  most  absurd  rumors  were  cir 
culated.  Troops  were  in  arms,  and  their  generals  had  lost 
their  brains.  Brigham  was  then  in  Boston,  Mass.  Sidney 
Rigdon,  to  whom  the  right  of  presidency  belonged,  according 
to  Mormon  law,  assumed  his  authority  and  began  to  obtain 
revelations,  confer  endowments,  institute  new  mysteries,  and 
dictate  a  la  Smith.  Brigham  came  hurriedly  to  Nauvoo — and 
now  came  the  tug  of  war — convinced  of  his  right  to  lead  the 
people.  O  how  easy  it  is  to  be  convinced  of  what  is  to  one's 
interest!  He  called  his  quorum  and  the  people  together; 
ran  Sidney  Rigdon  into  the  earth  completely ;  broke  up  his 
organizations  ;  denounced  his  revelations  as  from  the  devil ; 
crushed  his  influence ;  cut  off  himself  and  adherents ;  cursed 
him ;  "  handed  him  over  to  the  buffetings  of  Satan  for  a 
thousand  years,"  and  was  chosen  President  by  an  overwhelm 
ing  majority.  He  did  not  stay  tow  reason  with  the  minority, 
but  cut  them  all  off  at  once.  The  Church  was  going  to  ruin ; 
a  thousand  divisions  threatened  to  tear  it  piecemeal.  Four 
claimants  to  Smith's  position  appeared,  and  each  had  his  fol 
lowers  among  the  people.  Brigham  aimed  at  the  most  prom 
inent.  His  energy  intimidated  those  whom  it  did  not  cut  off. 
He  saved  the  system,  and  achieved  his  own  triumph. 

One  thing  is  certain,  had  Rigdon  remained  President,  there 
would  have  been  no  Mormonism  to-day.  Brigham  had  given 
a  strong  proof  of  his  administrative  ability.  The  people 
obeyed  him  willingly,  for  people  will  always  obey  men  who 
are  able  and  determined  to  lead.  Energy  grew  in  him  with 
its  exercise.  From  pleading  with  the  people,  he  began  to 
teach  them ;  from  teaching,  he  dictated  to  them.  Possessed  of 


142  BRIG  II  AM     YOUNG     AT     HOME. 

a  far  more  powerful  mind,  more  dogged  pertinacity,  clearer 
views,  and  more  pointedness  of  means  than  Smith,  he  soon 
made  Nauvoo  show  the  firm  hand  of  the  helmsman.  The 
Temple  was  completed,  the  Mansion  was  growing  fast,  Nauvoo 
was  increasing  rapidly,  and,  with  these,  his  popularity  and 
power. 

Not  only  on  the  present  did  he  keep  his  shrewd  gaze.  He 
felt  the  then  position  of  the  Saints  was  entirely  a  false  one, 
and  he  was  busy  laboring  to  convince  them  of  the  necessity 
of  moving  from  Nauvoo,  even  though  it  should  be  at  the  sac 
rifice  of  their  all.  They  had  reared  their  Temple  in  the  munifi 
cence  of  their  poverty  ;  to  leave  it  was  like  forsaking  a  child. 
Smith's  promises  and  prophecies  about  Missouri  had  failed ; 
those  about  Nauvoo  were  about  to  fail  too  ;  might  not  Brig- 
ham's  predictions  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  also  fail  ?  They 
hesitated,  and  they  wept.  Still  Brigham's  authority  prevented 
further  expression.  The  force  of  a  strong  will  bent  them  before 
it ;  and  his  influence  carried  the  measure  through.  The  Tem 
ple  was  finished  in  1845,  and  endowments  were  commenced. 
Thousands  were  hurried  through.  They  were  bound  together 
and  to  him  by  oaths,  which,  while  they  made  them  shudder 
to  remember,  yet  made  them  love  him  the  more.  Their  ten- 
derest  attachments,  their  deepest  superstition,  their  fiercest 
passions,  and  most  sacred  reverence  were  artfully  enlisted,  to 
make  them  more  united,  and  more  unitedly  obedient.  Lov 
ing  Brigham  as  their  brother,  venerating  him  as  their  Presi 
dent,  obeying  him  as  their  God,  they  left  even  their  beautiful 
Nauvoo.  They  crossed  the  Mississippi  on  the  ice,  in  Feb 
ruary,  1846.  Here  Brigham  proved  himself  a  general  as 


BRIGHAM     YOUNG    AT     HOME.  143 

well  as  a  commander.  He  directed  every  thing.  Thousands 
were  leaving ;  many  destitute,  and  all  poor ;  their  future  loca 
tion  was  undecided  and  unknown,  it  being  "  somewhere  in 
the  Rocky  Mountains,"  and  all  their  property  left  behind 
them.  Without  confusion,  without  hurrying  or  even  discord, 
their  long  trains  rolled  by  him,  while  he  comforted,  inspirited, 
blessed,  and  counseled  the  weeping  emigrants.  Committees 
were  left  behind  to  sell  the  property  of  the  Church ;  all  business 
was  arranged,  and  he  left  Nauvoo,  for  Winter  Quarters,  Iowa. 
The  same  skill  and  energy  directed  the  next  movement  of 
the  Church.  Their  avowed  intention  of  going  to  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  then  Mexican  country,  was  to  establish  an  inde 
pendent  government.  Disgusted  with  the  institutions  of  a 
country  that  had  allowed  them  to  be  expelled  three  times, 
they  resolved  to  forsake  it,  and  forever.  In  their  style,  they 
would  "  worship  under  their  own  vine  and  fig-tree,  and  none 
should  make  them  afraid."  But  they  were  poor :  money  was 
needed  to  enable  them  to  move.  Their  design  they  desired 
to  cloak  .under  a  sham  patriotism.  The  United  States  offered 
$20,000  bounty  money,  and  Brigham  recruited  a  regiment, 
persuaded,  commanded  them  to  leave  their  families,  many  of 
them  perfectly  destitute,  and  join  General  Scott's  army,  then 
in  Mexico,  and  they  obeyed.  One  hundred  and  forty-three 
men,  with  Brigham  at  their  head,  made  the  trip  to  Salt  Lake, 
where  they  arrived  July  24th,  1847;  and  leaving  a  few  to 
commence  farming  operations,  Brigham  returned  to  Winter 
Quarters,  Iowa,  where  the  Church  were  suffering  poverty  and 
starvation  ;  while  the  cholera,  and  fever  and  ague,  were  mow 
ing  them  down  in  ranks. 


144  BRIGHAM     YOUNG     AT     HOME. 

A  very  serious  step  had  now  to  be  taken.  The  veneration 
of  the  people  for  the  memory  of  Smith  was  very  sensitive. 
No  man  could  supplant  him  in  their  affections :  few  men 
could  have  dared  to  attempt  occupying  his  position.  A 
thousand  reminiscences  of  him,  that  the  people  loved  to 
cherish,  were  sanctified  in  their  thoughts  by  his  blood.  Brig- 
ham  was  only  ruling  the  people  in  his  capacity  of  President 
of  the  Twelve  Apostles.  He  needed  greater  influence ;  there 
fore,  he  coveted  the  higher  authority  of  the  President  of 
the  Church.  Cromwell  was  content  to  be  king  in  fact; 
Brigham  demanded  the  name  as  well  as  the  power.  It 
was  a  bold  step,  but  his  feet  were  firm ;  he  attempted  it, 
and  succeeded 

The  Church  was  reorganized  at  Council  Bluffs,  Iowa,  on  the 
24th  December,  1847.  After  the  pattern  of  Smith,  Brigham 
was  chosen  "  President  of  the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  of  Latter- 
day  Saints  in  all  the  world."  He  appointed  Heber  Chase, 
Kimball,  and  Willard  Richards,  to  be  his  Counselors.  These 
three  formed  the  "  First  Presidency."  All  this  was  subsequently 
confirmed  at  a  conference  held  6th  of  April,  1848,  at  the 
same  place.  Brigham  was  then  the  nominal  as  well  as 
virtual  "  head  of  this  strange  community."  A  greater  trial 
demanded  his  forethought.  The  whole  of  the  Church  had 
to  be  moved  a  distance  of  1030  miles,  through  an  almost 
unknown  country,  full  of  dangers  and  difficulties.  Some 
ability  is  required  to  efficiently  remove  bodies  of  armed 
troops  over  such  new  and  pioneering  obstacles ;  well  sup 
plied,  equipped  and  mounted,  it  taxes  a  commander's  skill ; 
but  here  were  poor,  unprovided,  feeble  men,  women,  and 


BRIGHAM     YOUNG     AT     HOME.  345 

children,  shaking  with  ague,  pale  with  suffering,  hollow 
and  gaunt  with  recent  hunger.  Without  strife,  without 
discord,  without  almost  a  murmur,  this  heterogeneous  mass 
moved  off.  Many  groaned  with  anguish,  but  none  with 
complaint  Brigham's  energy  inspired  them  all ;  his  genius 
controlled  them  all.  Marking  their  road  with  their  grave 
stones,  they  arrived  at  Salt  Lake  Valley,  destitute  and  feeble, 
in  1848.  The  desert,  to  which  they  had  come,  was  as  cheer 
less  as  their  past  history.  From  cruel  foes  they  had  fled  to 
as  unfeeling  a  wilderness.  Renewed  difficulties  demanded 
a  renewed  effort  from  Brigham.  Every  thing  depended 
on  him.  Starvation  and  nakedness  stared  in  the  gloomy 
faces  of  the  desponding  people.  Murmurs  and  complaints 
were  uttered.  He  quelled  every  thing ;  scolded,  plead, 
threatened,  prophesied,  and  subdued  them.  With  a  restless 
but  resistless  energy  he  set  them  to  work,  and  worked  himself 
as  their  example.  He  directed  their  labors,  controlled  their 
domestic  affairs,  preached  at  them,  to  them,  for  them.  He 
told  foolish  anecdotes  to  make  them  laugh ;  encouraged 
their  dancing  to  make  them  merry ;  got  up  theatrical 
performances  to  distract  their  minds,  and  made  them  work 
hard,  certain  of  that  rendering  them  contented  by-and-by. 
Feared  with  a  stronger  fear,  venerated  with  a  more  rational 
veneration,  but  not  loved  with  the  same  clinging  tender 
ness  that  the  people  still  felt  for  Joseph  Smith,  Brigham 
swayed  them  at  his  will.  They  learned  to  dread  his  iron 
hand;  and  were  daunted  by  his  iron  heart.  They 
got  enough  to  eat,  and  their  previous  want  made  their 
then  present  scarcity  seem  like  paradise  begun.  They 


146  BRIGHAM     YOUNG     AT     HOME. 

were  by  themselves,  but    still   they  were   away  from   their 
enemies. 

Mexico  was  vanquished,  California  seized,  much  terri 
tory  annexed  to  the  United  States,  and  the  Mormons  were 
now  desirous  to  be  recognized  by  the  federal  Government. 
Accordingly  the  people  elected  a  Convention  who  drew  up 
the  Constitution  of  the  State  of  Deseret,  appointed  dele 
gates,  sent  them  to  Washington,  and  prayed  admission 
into  the  Union.  Brigham  of  course  was  Governor ;  the  other 
offices  were  filled  by  the  leading  men  of  the  Church.  Con 
gress  in  1850  sheared  some  of  the  self-named  and  exten 
sive  proportions  of  "Deseret/'  and  granted  them  a  Terri 
torial  Government  under  the  name  of  Utah.  Fillmore,  by 
the  advice  and  intercession  of  Colonel  Kane,  who  had  em 
braced  Mormonism  in  Iowa,  appointed  Brigham  as  the 
Governor  of  Utah,  for  the  first  term  of  four  years. 

Since  that  time,  large  bodies  of  emigrants  have  flocked 
in.  The  California  excitement  drove  thousands  through, 
who  left  much  money  and  property.  Brigham's  policy  of 
keeping  the  people  to  work  constantly,  began  to  show  its 
fruits.  Cities,  towns,  public  buildings,  roads,  etc.,  were 
going  up.  A  Temple  block  was  dedicated,  inclosed,  and 
the  Tabernacle  erected.  Meanwhile  his  influence  began  to 
increase ;  thousands  came  from  England,  prepared  to  be 
lieve  him  any  thing  he  pretended,  and  every  thing  he  said. 
They  brought  the  skill  of  English  mechanics  added  to  the 
Mormon  energy.  Comfort  and  prosperity  dawned  upon  the 
people ;  and  Brigham  had  a  moment's  respite.  The  year 
1852  came,  and  the  Secretary  and  Judges  appointed  by 


BBIGHAM     YOUNG     AT     HOME.  147 

President  Pierce  to  Utah,  came  with  it.  Mr.  Brocchus 
and  others  made  some  slighting  allusions  to  the  Saints, 
and  their  conduct.  Brigham  was  aroused.  The  man  who 
had  crushed  Sidney  Rigdon,  in  the  very  teeth  of  the  Church, 
at  a  time  pregnant  with  ruin  for  the  whole  system,  would 
not  be  cowed  by  one  man,  especially  when  there  were 
thousands  to  support  him  in  what  he  might  do,  and  they 
were  a  thousand  miles  "from  anywhere."  Brocchus  was 
bruised,  bent,  broken ;  and  the  officers  fled.  Others  were 
appointed ;  they  yielded  to  Young,  and  remained. 

In  1854  another  cloud  darkened  the  temporal  horizon 
of  the  Church.  The  crops  failed.  Famine  stared  the  peo 
ple  in  the  face.  Hundreds  were  suffering  want  and  anxiety. 
The  people  murmured,  and  many  left.  Brigham  recalled 
his  old  tact  and  energy.  "  The  Saints  were  unfaithful, 
therefore  they  were  cursed ;"  or,  rather,  the  Saints  were 
cursed,  therefore  they  were  unfaithful.  Brigham's  famine 
sermons  startled  every  body ;  they  succeeded  where  every 
thing  else  would  have  failed.  He  stifled  out  complaint 
by  cursing  the  murmurers.  The  people  bowed  to  the  yoke, 
and  only  worked  harder  than  ever.  There  was  more  suf 
fering,  and  more  prayer.  Brigham  had  frequently  declared 
that  "  no  other  man  should  be  Governor  of  the  Territory." 
Colonel  Steptoe  came  in  the  same  year,  with  his  appoint 
ment,  generally  suspected.  Brigham  courted  the  Colonel ; 
got  up  parties  for  the  officers ;  flattered,  befooled,  and 
used  them  as  tools.  Colonel  Steptoe  threw  up  his  appoint 
ment  ;  got  up  the  following  memorial  to  President  Pierce ; 
induced  his  officers  and  civil  friends  to  sign  it,  and  for- 


148  BRIGHAM     YOUNG     AT     HOME. 

warded   it  to  Washington,   praying  for  the  reappointment 
of  Brigham  Young  to  the  office  of  Governor. 

TO    HIS    EXCELLENCY    FRANKLIN   PIERCE, 

PRESIDENT   OF   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

Your  petitioners  would  respectfully  represent:  that 

Whereas  Governor  Brigham  Young  possesses  the  entire 
confidence  of  the  people  of  this  Territory,  without  distinction 
of  party  or  sect ;  and  from  personal  acquaintance,  and  social 
intercourse,  we  find  him  to  be  a  firm  supporter  of  the  Consti 
tution  and  Laws  of  the  United  States,  and  a  tried  pillar  of 
Republican  Institutions ;  and  having  repeatedly  listened  to 
his  remarks,  in  private  as  well  as  in  public  assemblies,  do 
know  he  is  the  warm  friend  and  able  supporter  of  Constitu 
tional  Liberty,  the  rumors  published  in  the  States  to  the 
contrary  notwithstanding ;  and  having  canvassed  to  our 
satisfaction  his  doings  as  Governor,  and  Superintendent  of 
Indian  Affairs,  and  also  the  disposition  of  the  appropriation 
for  public  buildings  for  the  Territory, 

We  do  most  cordially  and  cheerfully  represent,  that  the 
same  has  been  expended  to  the  best  interest  of  the  nation  ;  and 

Whereas  his  reappointment  would  better  subserve  the 
Territorial  interest  than  the  appointment  of  any  other  man, 
and  would  meet  with  the  gratitude  of  the  entire  inhabitants 
of  the  Territory,  and  his  removal  would  cause  the  deepest 
feelings  of  sorrow  and  regret ;  and  it  being  our  unqualified 
opinion,  based  upon  the  personal  acquaintance  which  we  have 
formed  with  Governor  Young,  and  from  our  observation  of 
the  results  of  his  influence  and  administration  in  this  Terri 
tory,  that  he  possesses  in  an  eminent  degree  every  qualifica 
tion  necessary  for  the  discharge  of  his  official  duties,  and  un 
questioned  integrity  and  ability ;  that  he  is  decidedly  the 
most  suitable  person  that  can  be  selected  for  that  office. 


BRIQHAM     YOUNG     AT     HOME.  149 

We  therefore  take  great  pleasure  in  recommending  him  to 
your  favorable  consideration,  and  do  earnestly  request  his  re- 
appointment  as  Governor,  and  Superintendent  of  Indian  Af 
fairs  for  this  Territory. 

Great  Salt  Lake  City,  Utah  Territory,  December  30,  1854. 

J.  T.  KINNEY,  Chief  Justice  U.  S.  Supreme  Court,  Utah. 

E.  J.  STEPTOE,  Lieutenant-colonel  U.  S.  Army. 

JOHN  F.  REYNOLDS,  Brevet  Major  3d  Artillery  U.  S.  Army 

RUFUS  INGALLS,  Captain  U.  S.  Army. 

SYLVESTER  MOWRY,  Lieutenant  U.  S.  Army. 

LATHETT  L.  LIVINGSTON,  Lieutenant  3d  U.  S.  Artillery. 

JOHN  G.  CHANDLER,  Lieutenant  3d  U.  S.  Artillery. 

ROBERT  0.  TYLER,  Lieutenant  3d  Artillery. 

BENJAMIN  ALLSTON,  Brevet  2d  Lieutenant  1st  Dragoons  U. 
S.  Army. 

CHARLES  A.  PERRY,  Sutler  U.  S.  Army. 

WILLIAM  G.  RANKIN,  Quartermaster's  Clerk. 

HORACE  R.  WIRTZ,  Medical  Staff  U.  S.  Army. 

LEO.  SHAVER,  Assistant  Justice  of  Supreme  Court  of  U. 
S.,  Territory  of  Utah. 

WILLIAM  I.  APPLEBY,  Clerk  of  Supreme  and  First  District 
Courts  U.  S.,  Territory  of  Utah. 

CURTIS  E.  BOLTON  (Book-keeper  of  Mr.  Perry). 

A.  W.  BABBITT,  Secretary  of  Utah  Territory. 

JOSEPH  HOLLMAN,  U.  S.  District  Attorney  for  Utah ;  and 
many  Mormon  signatures. 

The  Colonel  left,  believing  Brigham  to  be  an  ill-used  and 
belied  man  ;  and  feeling  that  certainly,  notwithstanding  his 
fame  in  military  and  diplomatic  circles,  he  was  not  the  man  to 
cope  with  this  famous  prophet  and  would-be  reformer. 

Other  judges  and  officers  were  appointed  ;  not  one  of  them 
but  sunk  themselves,  or  was  fiercely  curbed  by  Brigham.  One 


150  BRIGHAM     YOUNG     AT     HOME. 

officer  disgraced  himself  with  an  Indian  squaw.  Another 
was  a  notorious  opium-eater,  with  which  he  killed  himself. 
Another  was  accused  of  having  gambling  in  his  cellar.  An 
other  for  taking  a  public  prostitute,  seating  her  on  the  bench 
with  him,  and  being  accessory  to  an  attempted  assassination. 
Another  was  a  notorious  drunkard.  All  fell,  or  all  had  to 
fall.  It  is  a  popular  mistake  that  Brigham  used  physical 
force  in  any  of  these  cases  ;  he  is  too  wise  a  man.  Physical 
force  is  the  sole  property  of  brutes,  and  they  are  brutes  who 
make  it  their  sole  property.  But  although  he  never  struck, 
he  has  over  and  over  again  threatened  and  intimidated  them. 
He  has  instigated  annoyances  of  a  thousand  different  kinds  ; 
frustrated  their  plans,  and  baffled  their  designs  ;  forced  them 
to  act  under  a  mental  and  moral  duress ;  but  he  never  yet 
attempted  personal  violence.  They  have  all  felt  the  pressure 
of  his  heavy  hand,  but  none  bear  the  marks  of  his  fangs. 
Had  they  resisted  him,  however,  I  make  no  doubt  but  that 
some  appointed  individual  would  have  sought  a  quarrel  with 
the  contumacious  Judge,  and  have  murdered  him.  Let  an 
other  man  give  the  Mormons  the  same  reasons  to  be  disliked 
or  feared  as  Governor  Boggs  of  Missouri,  and  Joseph  Smith's 
successor  will  find  another  O.  P.  Rockwell  to  attempt  to 
assassinate  him.  That  Brigham  Young  has  been  accessory 
to  several  murders,  I  am  compelled  to  believe ;  that  he  would 
not  hesitate  at  such,  if  he  thought  it  advisable  and  proper,  I 
have  not  the  slightest  doubt ;  yet,  I  think  his  heart  would  con 
demn  such  an  act,  if  not  imperiously  demanded  by  his  policy. 
To  his  policy  he  would  sacrifice  himself;  to  it  he  would 
willingly  sacrifice  his  country ;  to  it  he  will  assuredly  sacri- 


BEIGHAM     YOUNG     AT     HOME.  151 

fice  the  whole  Mormon  people,  by  arraying  them  against 
federal  authority  and  power ;  and  the  immolation  of  a  Judge 
or  a  Governor,  would  need  but  a  small  stretch  of  his  con 
science.  While  this  is  true  as  to  his  unscrupulousness,  it-  is 
not  true  of  his  past  conduct.  The  means  he  has  employed  to 
so  completely  rule  the  United  States  officials  hitherto  sent 
has  been  this — they  have  put  themselves  under  his  heel,  and 
he  has  mercilessly  trod  them  down,  and  compelled  them  to 
leave. 

Brigham  Young  has  one  design,  and  only  one.  However 
wild  in  theory  and  impossible  in  execution,  he  entertains  it 
seriously  ;  and  that  is,  to  make  the  Mormon  Church  by-and- 
by  control  the  whole  of  this  continent.  For  this  he  really 
hopes,  and  to  this  end  are  all  his  efforts  directed.  By  the 
native  force  and  vigor  of  a  strong  mind  he  has  already  taken 
this  system  of  the  grossest  absurdity  and  re-created  it ;  molded 
it  anew  and  changed  its  spirit;  taken  from  beneath  it  the 
monstrous  stilts  of  a  miserable  superstition,  and  consolidated 
it  into  a  compact  scheme  of  the  sternest  fanaticism  ;  guided 
its  energies  and  swelled  its  numbers ;  increased  its  wealth  and 
established  its  power,  and  all  with  the  same  ability  that 
characterized  his  triumph  over  Rigdon,  or  his  direction  of 
the  emigration  to  Salt  Lake.  His  success  in  the  past  only 
inspires  in  him  confidence  in  his  future,  and  relying  on  con 
temptuous  disregard  or  fluctuating  imbecility  on  the  part  of 
the  Government,  he  is  prepared  to  consummate  his  folly  and 
his  ruin. 

I  have  seen  and  heard  him  very  often ;  privately  conversed 
with  him ;  watched  him  in  his  family  and  in  his  public  ad- 


152  BRIGHAM     YOUNG     AT     HOME. 

ministrations;  carefully  endeavored  to  criticise  his  move 
ments,  and  discover  his  secret  of  power,  and  I  conscientiously 
assert,  that  the  world  has  much  mistaken  the  ability  and 
danger  of  the  man. 

This  is  independent  of  his  system ;  that  is  a  piece  of  gross 
fraud,  but  it  is  a  proof  the  stronger  that  he  must  be  some 
thing  of  a  man,  to  make  so  much  out  of  so  poor  and  ridicu 
lous  a  foundation.  In  a  few  years  he  will  follow  others  to 
the  grave ;  Mormonism  will  lose  his  clear  head  and  his  iron 
fist.  Under  the  vacillating  weakness  of  Kimball,  or  the  im 
petuous  thoughtlessness  of  the  old  apostate,  Hyde ;  the  ab 
stract  pouderings  of  0.  Pratt,  or  the  good-natured  want  of 
energy  of  George  A.  Smith  ;  the  self-confident  and  self-ex 
hibiting  egotism  of  Taylor,  or  the  wild  theories  of  the  others, 
Mormonisni  will  decline.  It  must  live  its  day,  and  die.  Brig- 
ham  is  its  sun,  this  is  its  day-time.  Delusions  have  arisen  in 
all  ages  ;  like  meteors,  the  more  rapid  their  progress,  the  more 
heat  and  light  they  have  evolved — but  the  more  speedy  has 
been  their  extinction.  It  has  been  thus  with  other  systems  of 
imposture,  and  will  be  so  with  this. 

Brigham  Young  is  far  superior  to  Smith  in  every  thing 
that  constitutes  a  great  leader.  Smith  was  not  a  man  of 
genius  ;  his  forte  was  tact.  He  only  embraced  opportunities 
that  presented  themselves.  He  used  circumstances  but  did 
not  create  them.  The  compiling  genius  of  Mormonism  was 
Sidney  Rigdon.  Smith  had  boisterous  impetuosity,  but  no 
foresight.  Polygamy  was  not  the  result  of  his  policy,  but  of 
his  passions.  Sidney  gave  point,  direction,  and  apparent 
consistency  to  the  Mormon  system  of  theology.  He  invented 


BBIGHAM     YOUNG    AT     HOME.  153 

its  forms  and  many  of  its  arguments.  He  and  Parley  Pratt 
were  its  leading  orators  and  polemics.  Had  it  not  been  for 
the  accession  of  these  two  men,  Smith  would  have  been  lost, 
and  his  schemes  frustrated  and  abandoned.  That  Brigham 
was  superior  not  only  to  Smith,  but  also  to  Rigdon,  is  evi 
dent.  To  carry  on  Mormonism  demands  increasing  talent 
and  skill.  Its  position  and  progress  becomes  constantly  beset 
with  fresh  and  greater  difficulties.  The  next  President  must 
be  as  superior  to  Brigham  as  he  was  to  Smith,  or  Mormonism 
will  retrograde.  Such  an  one  does  not  live  in  the  Mormon 
Church. 

Thus  far  with  Brigham's  past  history.  It  may  be  interest 
ing  to  ask  what  is  his  appearance  and  style.  In  person  he  is 
rather  large  and  portly,  has  an  imposing  carriage  and  very 
impressive  manner.  To  pass  him  in  the  street,  he  is  one 
of  those  men  we  should  naturally  turn  round  to  look  after. 
In  private  conversation,  he  is  pointed,  but  affable,  very  court 
eous  to  strangers,  knows  he  is  the  object  of  much  curiosity, 
takes  it  as  a  matter  of  course,  and,  so  long  as  the  curiosity  is 
not  impertinent,  is  very  friendly.  He  talks  freely,  in  an  off 
hand  style,  on  any  subject,  does  not  get  much  time  to  read, 
and,  therefore,  often  blunders  grossly ;  he  is  much  more  of 
an  observer  than  reader,  thoroughly  knows  men,  a  point  in 
which  Smith  was  very  weak,  although  he  boasted  "the  Lord 
tells  me  who  to  trust."  Men  not  books,  deeds  not  words, 
houses  not  theories,  the  earth  and  not  the  heavens,  now  and 
not  hereafter,  is  Brigham's  view  of  matters.  Hence  his  re 
ligion  is  all  practical ;  and,  consequently,  hence  his  practical 
success. 


154  B  HIGH  AM     YOUNG     AT     HOME. 

Brigham  in  a  council  and  Brigham  in  the  pulpit  are  not 
the  same.  Under  the  force  of  his  prophetic  afflatus,  he  talks, 
till,  on  reviewing  his  remarks,  he  has  to  say,  "  Well,  well, 
words,  are  only  wind."  This  is  a  remark  he  once  made.  In 
council  he  is  calm,  deliberate,  and  very  politic  ;  neither  hast 
ily  decided,  nor  easily  moved  when  decided.  His  shrewd 
ness  is  often,  however,  baffled  by  a  set  of  sycophants  that  he 
has  around  him.  He  has  unjustly  browbeaten  and  crushed 
several  of  his  warm  believers  through  the  instigations  of  men 
"  whom  I  thought  I  could  believe."  So  complete  is  his  ascend 
ancy  that  they,  however,  have  only  bowed  their  heads  and 
tried  to  do  better.  The  same  petty  jealousies,  secret  maneu- 
verings,  pandering  flattery,  and  entire  self-abnegation,  charac 
terize  his,  as  any  other  great  man's  satellites.  One  difference 
exists,  and  that  is  this,  however  bickering  among  themselves, 
they  would  all  die  for  Brigham  Young.  One  of  the  severest 
tests  of  greatness  is  the  power  to  completely  center  in  oneself 
a  thousand  interests  and  the  deep  affections  of  a  thousand 
hearts.  All  really  great  men  have  done  this.  Philosophy 
has  had  its  disciples,  adventurers  their  followers,  generals 
their  soldiers,  kings  their  subjects,  impostors  their  fanatics. 
Mohammed,  Smith,  Brigham  have  all  been  thus.  No  man 
ever  lived  who  had  more  deeply  devoted  friends  than  Brig- 
ham  Young.  The  magnetism  that  attracts  and  infatuates, 
that  makes  men  feel  its  weight  and  yet  love  its  presence, 
abounds  in  him.  Even  his  enemies  have  to  acknowledge 
a  great  charm  in  the  influence  he  throws  around  him.  The 
clerks  in  his  office  and  his  very  wives  feel  the  same  venera 
tion  for  the  Prophet,  as  the  most  respectful  new-comer.  It  is 


BRIGHAM     YOUNG     AT     HOME.  155 

thus  also  in  his  public  orations ;  he  soon  winds  a  thrall  round 
his  hearers.  Bad  jokes,  low  ribaldry,  meaningless  nonsense, 
and  pompous  swagger  that  would  disgust  when  coming  from 
any  one  else,  amuse  and  interest  from  him.  I  have  seen  him 
bring  an  audience  to  their  feet  and  draw  out  thundering  re 
sponses  more  than  once.  Sermons  that  appear  a  mere  farcical 
rhodomontade  have  been  powerful  when  they  were  spoken  by 
him.  His  manner  is  pleasing  and  unaffected,  his  matter  per 
fectly  impromptu  and  unstudied.  He  does  not  preach  but 
merely  talks.  His  voice  is  strong  and  sonorous,  and  he  is  an 
excellent  bass  singer.  His  gestures  are  easy  and  seldom 
violent.  He  feels  his  sermons  ;  the  people  see  he  feels  them, 
and,  therefore,  they  make  themselves  felt.  He  makes  con 
stant  and  unmistakable  allusions  to  individuals;  imitating 
their  personal  appearance  and  peculiarities,  and  repeating 
their  expressions.  Brigham  is  a  good  mimic,  and  very 
readily  excites  laughter.  Much  that  tells,  therefore,  very 
gallingly  to  Salt  Lake  audiences,  who  understand  the  allu 
sions  and  recognize  the  parties,  seems  ridiculous  when  read. 
Even  on  reading,  after  denuding  his  sermons  of  the  ridiculous 
and  obscure,  there  is  an  evident  vein  of  strong,  practical 
sense.  They  are,  however,  much  garbled  in  printing,  and 
are  still  more  coarse  and  profane,  when  spoken.  Brigham 
has  no  education.  He  never  writes  his  letters,  merely  dic 
tates  them.  This  was  also  the  custom  of  J.  Smith.  Smith's 
letters  to  A.  Bennett,  Clay,  and  Calhoun,  and  his  address  as 
candidate  for  the  Presidency,  which  was  thought  to  so  clearly 
evince  the  man,  were  written  by  Phelps,  the  Mormon  devil, 
W.  Clayton,  and  others.  In  like  manner,  the  epistles,  ad- 


156  B HIGH AM     YOUNG     AT     HOME. 

dresses,  and  messages  that  simple  Saints  have  believed  were 
the  divine  effusions  of  "Brigharu's  graphic  pen"  (!)  were 
written  by  General  D.  W.  Wells,  Albert  Carrington,  and 
others.  His  autograph,  which  is  quite  characteristic,  dashed 
energetically  up  and  down  and  curling  off  with  a  little  nour 
ish,  is  almost  as  far  as  Brigham's  chirography  extends. 

Much  interest  is  naturally  felt  as  to  his  family.  As  a  hus 
band  he  is  kind  not  fond.  As  a  father  he  is  necessarily  neg 
ligent,  indeed  he  makes  a  mockery  of  Solomon's  injunction, 
"  Bring  up  a  child  in  the  way  he  should  go,  and  he  will  never 
depart  from  it ;"  quotes  Solomon  himself  as  a  proof  to  the 
contrary,  and  says,  "  According  to  my  experience  it  is,  bring 
up  a  child  and  away  they  go."  Brigham  is  a  tolerably  well- 
preserved  man,  considering  his  travels  and  hardships,  and  the 
constant  mental  and  physical  demands  on  his  system.  He 
sleeps  by  himself,  in  a  sacredly  private  chamber  behind  his 
office.  He,  as  some  old  philosophers,  teaches  the  doctrine 
that  cohabitation  is  entirely  for  the  purpose  of  procreation,  and 
that  all  cohabitation  should,  therefore,  cease  with  pregnancy ; 
nor  be  resumed  until  after  weaning  the  infant !  This  rule  he 
endeavors  to  keep,  although  the  birth  of  children  proves  him 
to  have  violated  his  own  law,  certainly  in  one  woman's 
exception.  There  is  also  another  practice  he  lias  adopted 
which  eminently  proves  the  degrading  nature  of  this  Mormon 
institution.  As  cohabitation  is  merely  for  the  purpose  of  pro 
creation,  therefore  after  his  wives  get  past  child-bearing,  they 
are  entirely  discarded.  They  live  in  his  house  and  eat  at  his 
table,  but  all  attention  from  him,  as  a  husband,  ceases.  Brig- 
ham  believes  that  Solomon's  injunction,  "Waste  not  thy 


BRIGHAM     YOUNG     AT     HOME.  157 

strength  on  women,"  might  be  peculiarly  applied  in  these 
instances.  These  women,  thus  neglected,  usually  become 
"  Mothers  in  Israel ;"  pretend  to  great  piety,  and  endeavor  to 
win  the  smile  of  approval  as  devotees,  that  is  denied  to  them 
as  wives.  But  Mormon  piety  is  very  peculiar  in  its  nature  ; 
it  is  not  the  spiritual  purity  and  holiness  that  might  be  im 
agined,  but  assumes  quite  a  practical  and  Mormon  cast :  to 
convert  young  girls  who  dislike  polygamy  into  advocates  of 
the  practice ;  to  convince  young  wives  who  stand  alone  in 
their  husband's  affections,  that  it  is  their  duty  to  persuade 
their  husbands  to  take  other  wives  ;  to  visit  the  sick,  and  by 
anointing,  and  praying,  and  "laying  on  of  hands,"  to  en 
deavor  to  heal  them  miraculously ;  to  teach  newly-married 
wives  their  duties,  which  many  of  them  do  most  indecently 
and  even  obscenely ;  to  be  present  at  child-births,  and  give 
motherly  advice  upon  the  most  sacredly  private  affairs ;  to 
attend  their  weekly  "  council  of  health,"  and  tell  their  own 
and  friends'  experiences ;  and  disgustingly  discuss  the  laws 
of  procreation  and  human  nature  in  general.  Incited  by  feel 
ings  which  are  neither  dead  nor  dormant,  witnessing  around 
them  unblushing  signs  of  sensuality,  remembering  the  reasons 
that  have  induced  the  neglect  they  can  not  but  feel,  hearing 
but  little  conversation  not  connected  with  marriage,  or  birth, 
or  their  kindred  concomitants,  the  vast  majority  of  them  are 
as  above  stated ;  and  who  can  be  surprised  that  such  results 
should  inevitably  follow  ? 

Brigham  has  not  only  these  discarded  wives,  and  those 
with  whom  he  lives,  but  also  the  widows  of  Smith ;  besides 
many  spiritual  wives  (temporarily  married  to  other  husbands) 


158  BRIGHAM     YOUNG     AT     HOME. 

and  likewise  many  women  to  whom  he  has  been  "  sealed"  as 
agent  or  proxy  for  some  dead  brother.  Counting  all  these 
he  has  a  very  large  number.  Out  of  this  number,  there  are 
only,  I  believe,  about  twenty-five  with  whom  he  lives.  This, 
I  think,  includes  the  whole,  but  of  this  it  is  impossible  to 
speak  decisively.  I  can  only  say,  that  I  am  not  acquainted 
with  any  more.  It  may  be  naturally  asked,  Where  does  he 
keep  them  ?  How  do  they  live  ?  What  do  they  do  ?  When 
does  he  visit  them  ?  etc.,  etc. 

Brigham  has  some  of  his  wives  in  his  Lion  House  ;  others 
in  his  Mansion,  and  others  in  little  houses,  in  different  parts 
of  the  city.  He  intends  to  see  them  all  once  a  week,  and,  if 
possible,  once  a  day.  This,  however,  owing  sometimes  to  his 
ill  health,  sometimes  to  the  press  of  business,  and  sometimes 
from  bad  weather,  he  is  not  able  to  do.  His  wives,  if  they 
want  to  see  him,  then,  have  to  go  to  him.  For  thirty  or 
forty  women  to  be  in  a  sick  room,  and  all  wanting  to  do 
something  for  their  suffering  lord  and  master,  is  no  trifle  for 
•weak  or  disordered  nerves.  If  he  be  sick,  he  has  to  name  his 
attendant,  and  the  rest  go  sadly  away  and  weep,  till  their 
jealousy  and  anguish  is  over.  Poor  women  !  there  is  many 
and  often  a  wet  eye,  a  pained  bosom,  a  dreary  heart-ache,  and 
deep  sighs ;  but  they  murmur,  "  It  is  the  will  of  the  Lord," 
and  try  to  stifle  down  the  voice  of  nature  that  is  pleading 
within  them,  against  the  monstrous  cruelty.  He  may  be  in 
pain,  and  their  kind  hearts  and  soft  hands  may  uselessly  wish 
to  attend  or  comfort  him ;  he  may  die,  and  the  whole  of  his 
family  could  not  stand  around  his  bed,  to  hear  his  last  words 
or  watch  his  last  breath.  They  are  the  companions  of  his 


BRIGHAM     YOUNG     AT     HOME.  159 

passions,  and  not  of  his  life ;  panderers  to  his  lusts,  instead 
of  being  the  partners  of  his  affections  ;  obliged  to  be  satisfied 
with  a  passing  nod,  a  casual  smile,  or  an  accidental  confi 
dence  :  crushing  out  every  hope  of  happiness,  every  dream  of 
girlhood,  every  wish  and  every  necessity  of  their  deep  woman 
hearts;  searing  themselves  into  a  premature  age,  and  age 
bringing  with  it  inevitable  neglect,  and  yet,  most  of  them  ap 
pearing  content  to  be  thus  degraded,  for  the  sake  of  their 
religion ;  preserving  themselves  pure  for  their  impure  hus 
bands,  till  the  observer  is  almost  compelled  to  think,  that 
they  must  have  ceased  to  be  women  altogether  in  heart,  in 
soul,  and  in  mind. 

Brigham  Young,  imitating  the  sultan  in  his  hareem,  has 
imitated  him  also  in  having  a  favorite.  This,  of  course,  is 
vigorously  denied  by  the  men  of  Utah ;  the  women,  however, 
whose  perceptions  are  far  more  acute,  especially  when  sharp 
ened  by  jealousy,  know  the  men  are  trying  to  deceive  them. 
It  is  contrary  to  human  nature  for  men,  however  brutal  or 
however  refined,  to  have  several  wives  without  feeling  a 
warmer  love  for  some  one  of  them  than  for  the  others.  Brig- 
ham  Young,  I  presume,  would  deny  the  charge  directly, 
were  any  of  his  wives  to  dare  to  make  it :  but  with  so  many 
eyes  to  watch  his  glances  ;  to  observe  on  whose  face  it  lingers 
the  longest ;  or  seems  most  tender  while  regarding  ;  or  whom 
he  gets  to  wait  on  him  most,  when  sick ;  or  whose  company 
he  prefers,  when  traveling ;  or  who  seems  best  acquainted 
with  his  views  on  private  matters ;  or  who  exercises  most 
influence  over  domestic  arrangements;  or  who  obtains  the 
most  attention  if  unwell ;  or  who  is  always  best  provided 


ICO  BRIGHAM     YOUNG     AT     HOME. 

with  assistance;  or  at  whose  accouchments  Brigham,  in 
spite  of  himself,  exhibits  most  anxiety ;  with  so  many  eyes  to 
remark,  and  so  many  hearts  to  treasure  up  such  observations, 
it  is  impossible  not  to  know. 

Brigham  has  a  favorite.  She  is  a  very  good-looking  per 
son,  of  about  thirty  years  of  age.  She  is  tall ;  her  eyes  are  a 
very  soft  blue,  large  and  full ;  her  hair  light  brown  ;  com 
plexion  very  fair,  and  general  expression  very  intelligent  and 
prepossessing.  I  believe  she  is  Brigham's  third  wife,  and,  I 
understand,  he  married  her  at  Council  Bluffs,  Iowa.  She  has 
had  six  children,  most  of  them,  however,  are  dead.  In  her 
case,  Brigham  violated  his  own  law.  For  a  little  while,  he 
indulged  his  vanity  so  far  as  to  wear  his  hair  curled  ;  much 
laughter  and  remark  was  occasioned  by  persons  often  noticing 
his  head  fixed  up  in  papers  and  hair-pins,  of  an  evening. 
This  lady  was  the  industrious  hair-dresser.  She  is  very  de 
vout  in  her  religion  and  passionately  devoted  to  her  husband, 
that  is,  to  her  "  undivided  moiety"  of  a  husband ! 

Mrs.  Emeline  Free  Young,  however,  is  not  alone,  either  in 
her  worth  or  her  affection.  Brigham  is  very  much  beloved 
by  all  his  wives,  notwithstanding  his  bitter  attacks  on  some, 
and  cruel  neglect  of  others,  of  them.  They  all  certainly  be 
lieve  in  his  authority,  and  are  content  to  share  his  future 
glory,  although  that  is  so  widely  diffused,  that  it  can  come 
only  in  homeopathic  doses  to  any  one  of  them. 

There  are  still  very  many  who  would  like  to  be  married  to 
Brigham,  notwithstanding  the  size  of  his  family.  Many  great 
men,  orators,  tragedians,  poets,  or  warriors  have  excited  sim 
ilar  feelings  in  many  bosoms.  At  Salt  Lake  the  women  not 


BRIGHAM     YOUNG     AT     HOME.  161 

only  feel,  but  express  such  wishes.  Nature  has  implanted  the 
feeling  of  sympathy  and  the  sentiment  of  admiration ;  false 
education  has  taught  many  to  mistake  that  sympathy  for  love, 
and  that  admiration  for  devotion :  the  Mormons  have  broken 
down  the  barriers  of  modesty,  and  the  women,  thus  in  error, 
are  permitted  to  indulge  it,  and  gratify  the  new  passion  by  a 
new  marriage,  if  single ;  or  by  a  divorce  and  then  a  marriage 
if  previously  united. 

Great  numbers  have  pestered  Brigham  so  much  to  marry 
them,  that  he  has  been  forced  to  declare,  "  My  family  is  large 
enough,  and  I  do  not  want  to  take  any  more." 

I  spent  a  few  days  at  the  house  of  an  old  gentleman  from 
Pennsylvania,  during  the  spring  of  1856.  He  was  a  thorough 
German ;  honest,  honorable,  very  hard  working,  and  com 
pletely  infatuated  with  Mormonism.  He  had  a  daughter, 
about  twenty-two  years  of  age,  good-looking,  intelligent,  and 
very  much  courted  by  several  wealthy  and  hard-working 
single  young  men,  but  had  refused  them  all.  She  was 
moping,  and  doing  her  best  to  make  herself  miserable,  and  I 
learned  that  Melina  had  been  spending  a  few  weeks  with  Mrs. 
Emeline  Free  Young,  had  thus  been  thrown  into  the  society 
of  Brigham,  had  become  so  impressed  and  enamored  of  him 
as  to  love  him.  She  told  me  that  she  had  asked  Brigham  to 
have  her,  she  promised  him  to  labor  for  and  support  herself, 
told  him  of  her  love,  and  only  wanted  to  call  herself  his  wife. 
When  I  asked  her,  very  gravely,  what  Mrs.  Emeline  said  to 
all  this,  she  told  me, 

"  Why,  brother  Hyde,  she  was  only  desirous  to  add  to  her 
husband's  glory !" 


162  BRIGHAM     YOUNG     AT     HOME. 

I  demanded  what  reply  Brigham  made  to  this  earnest  and 
devoted  appeal  ? 

"  Why,  he  told  me  that  his  family  was  large  enough  and 
he  did  not  wish  to  extend  it,"  replied  the  half  weeping  and 
foolish  girl. 

"  Then  as  he  refused  you,  Melina,"  said  I,  "  why  do  you  not 
marry  some  of  these  young  fellows,  who  are  constantly  pest 
ering  you  to  go  to  parties  and  sleigh-rides  ?" 

Her  answer  struck  me  forcibly.  "  Brother  Hyde,  it  is  a 
principle  of  Mormonism  that,  if  we  resolve,  and  keep  on  re 
solving,  and  keep  on  living  up  to  our  resolution,  that  we  can 
accomplish  what  we  want.  Is  n't  that  true  ?" 

"  Yes,  to  a  certain  extent,  it  is  true,  but  what  do  you  make 
of  it  ?"  I  demanded. 

"  Just  this ;  L  am  determined  to  be  one  of  brother  Brigham's 
wives ;  God  showed  him  to  me  in  a  dream,  and  I  know  he 
will  have  me,  if  I  only  resolve  and  keep  sticking  to  my  resolu 
tion,  and  living  for  it  and  nothing  else,  and  that  is  why  I 
keep  refusing  all  these  fellows.  I  won't  ride  with  them,  nor 
dance  with  them,  nor  walk  with  them  ;  I  '11  keep  myself  to 
myself,  and  I  know  I  shall  get  my  wish." 

Her  perseverance  is  commendable,  whatever  be  said  of  its 
object ;  and  so  Miss  Melina  is  "  still  sticking  to  her  resolu 
tion." 

Brigham  has  some  seventeen  or  eighteen  of  his  wives  in  his 
"  Lion  House."  Each  wife  has  a  separate  sleeping  apartment, 
except  in  case  of  discarded  ones  who  sleep  by  twos.  The 
rooms  are  scrupulously  clean  and  neat ;  sufficiently,  but  not 
well  furnished.  They  are  the  sitting-rooms  during  the  day- 


BRIGHAM     YOUNG     AT     HOME.  163 

time  for  their  occupants.  When  well,  all  in  that  and  the 
adjoining  house  are  expected  to  eat  at  the  general  table.  It 
is  a  curious  spectacle  is  Brigham's  dining-hall.  Wives,  child 
ren,  workmen,  visitors,  a  crowd  of  hungry  dinner-seekers.  It 
needs  no  small  amount  of  cooking,  nor  any  slight  quantity  of 
edibles.  Brigham  keeps  no  servants ;  his  wives,  unless  sick, 
wait  on  themselves.  In  that  case,  they  must  wait  on  each 
other.  Cooking,  cleaning,  dairy-work,  washing,  mending, 
tending  children,  has  to  be  distributed  among  them  according 
to  the  taste  or  skill  of  each ;  or  else,  by  the  absolute  and  final 
dictum  of  the  Prophet !  Before  the  general  table  system  was 
adopted,  each  wife  was  supplied  in  rotation,  and  by  weight 
and  quantity,  with  vegetables,  fruits,  etc.  Like  old  feudal 
barons,  Brigham  is  obliged  to  keep  a  steward  and  purveyor 
for  his  numerous  dependants. 

It  must  not  be  imagined  that  these  wives  lead  an  idle  life. 
Brigham  is  a  working  man.  Sternly  practical  in  his  views 
of  policy,  keeping  the  whole  of  the  people  constantly  and 
diligently  at  work,  he  makes  his  household  a  pattern  for  the 
Saints.  "  There  must  be  no  idlers  in  Zion,  no  drones  in  the 
hive,"  is  Brigham's  hobby-cry,  and  consequently  the  whole  of 
his  family  work.  His  sons  among  the  stock,  herding,  brand 
ing,  driving.  His  wives  at  household  affairs,  looms,  spinning- 
wheels,  knitting-needles,  and  quilting-frames.  They  boast 
very  extensively  of  how  many  stockings,  quilts,  yards  of 
flannel,  linsey,  and  carpet  they  have  made.  "  If  a  woman 
can  not  support  herself,  and  partly  provide  for  her  family,  she 
is  only  half  a  woman,"  say  Mormon  domestic  economists. 
They  try,  therefore,  to  make  their  wives  models  of  perfection ; 


164  BRIGHAM     YOUNG     AT     HOME. 

they  have  to  work  hard.  "  To  dress  well  is  costly,  and  that 
is  extravagant ;  and  extravagance  is  a  sin,"  say  they  ;  and, 
consequently,  they  conclude,  "  to  dress  well  is  a  sin."  Proud 
of  a  delaine,  pleased  with  a  muslin  or  content  with  a  calico, 
they  limit  their  wants  to  the  wishes  of  their  "  lords,"  and  are 
satisfied  if  none  of  the  rest  have  any  better.  Roundheads 
could  not  be  less  costly  in  their  dress ;  Puritans  not  more 
punctilious  in  the  trifles  of  life.  I  have  often  thought,  indeed, 
that  Brigham  tries  to  imitate  the  old  Puritanic  style  in  every 
thing,  except  his  polygamy.  Stern  old  fellows  who  would 
pray  while  they  drew  their  swords  ;  who  would  kill  an  antag 
onist  for  the  love  of  God ;  who,  in  the  fanatic  hope  of  securing 
a  heavenly  kingdom,  would  tear  down  earthly  governments, 
and  sincerely  rebel  in  the  belief  of  doing  their  duty ;  to  whom 
blood  was  but  an  incense  to  the  Almighty,  and  whose  foes 
were  the  especial  enemies  of  the  Eternal ;  these  certainly 
present  Mormon  sentiments.  Brigham's  wives,  although 
poorly  clothed  and  hard  worked,  are  still  very  infatuated  with 
their  system,  very  devout  in  their  religion,  very  devoted  to 
their  husband.  They  content  themselves  with  his  kindness, 
as  they  can  not  obtain  his  love.  Not  being  allowed  to  be 
happy,  they  try  to  be  calm ;  and  endeavor  to  think  that  this 
calmness  is  happiness.  Because  their  hearts  may  not  feel, 
therefore  they  freeze  their  hearts.  As  their  religion  is  all 
their  solace,  they  try  to  make  it  their  only  object.  If  it  does 
not  elevate  their  mind,  it  deadens  their  susceptibilities,  and 
not  being  permitted  to  be  women,  they  try  to  convince  them 
selves  that  it  is  God's  will  for  them  to  be  slaves. 

As  before  remarked,  Brigham  sleeps  alone.     He  not  only 


BRIGHAM     YOUNG     AT     HOME.  165 

practices,  but  publicly  advocates  this  habit,  and  that,  toOj 
without  any  delicacy  of  thought  or  modesty  of  expression. 
The  reasons  he  urges  are  very  singular  and  ridiculous. 
"Audit  solum  ad  vocem  libidonis" 

Brigham  has  many  small  children  living,  and  one  of  his 
wives  is  school-mistress  to  the  whole.     His  two  large  houses 
are  comfortably  furnished,  and  he  has  a  piano  and  melodeon, 
on  which  his  daughters  have  learned  to  play.     His  family  is 
necessarily  very  expensive,  but  he  is  a  very  excellent  business 
man  ;    and  although   he  does  not   receive  a  cent  from  the 
Church  in  remuneration  for  his  services,  his  position  as  Presi 
dent  secured  to  him  all  the  chances  of  selection  in  the  com 
mencement,  and  every  opportunity  of  improvement  since.    To 
this  must  be  added  his  past  salary  as  Governor  and  Super 
intendent  of  Indian  Affairs.     He  is  a  very  extensive  farmer, 
having  the  best  locations ;  owns  several  saw  and  grist-mills, 
much  stock  and  other  property.     No  one's  farms  are  better 
cultivated ;  no  stock,  finer  breed  ;  no  mills  make  better  flour 
than  those  of  Brigham  Young.     His  practical  genius  shows 
admirably   in  the   improvement  of  his   own   property.     Of 
course  his  position  secures  also  many  valuable  presents.    From 
a  barrel  of  brandy  down  to  an  umbrella,  Brigham  receives 
courteously,  and  remembers  the  donors  with  increased  kind 
ness.     Any  new  variety  of  fruit,  or  stock,  is  always  sent  up  to 
"  Brother  Brigham,  with  Brother   So-and-So's   respects."     I 
saw  one  man  make   him  a  present  of  ten  fine  milch  cows. 
That  man  will  some  day  get  an  exclusive  grant  to  some  nice 
pasture  from  the  Legislature  of  Utah,  or  some  rich  claim  to 
a  wood  kanyon  ;  or  an  important  privilege  in  a  valuable  ferry. 


166  BRIGHAM     YOUNG     AT     HOME. 

Although,  of  course,  the  Mormons  indignantly  disclaim  such 
bribery ;  still  it  is  thus  at  Salt  Lake  ;  and  as  says  Sam  Slick, 
"  human  natur  is  human  natur,  wherever  the  critter's  found." 

Brigham  is  a  great  lover  of  fruit,  and  a  warm  patron  of 
the  Pomological  and  Horticultural  Societies  of  Utah  ;  although 
some  rigid  Saints  are  inclined  to  view  Mormon  co-operation 
with  outside  Pomological  or  Agricultural  Societies,  as  evincing 
a  hankering  after  "  the  flesh-pots  of  Egypt." 

Brigham's  time  is  much  occupied.  He  rises  early,  calls 
the  whole  of  his  family  together.  They  sing  a  hymn,  and 
he  prays  fervently,  and  they  separate  for  the  day's  duties. 
He  eats  at  the  long  table,  and  as  his  gustativeness  is  small, 
his  fare  is  very  simple ;  often  consisting  only  of  a  bowl  of 
milk  covered  with  cream,  and  dry  toast  or  bread.  To  make 
his  rounds,  "  see  the  women  folks,"  is  his  next  duty.  To  these 
he  is  cordial  and  kind,  but  no  more.  He  is  not  Brigham  the 
lover  or  the  husband,  but  Brigham  the  Prophet  and  President, 
They  feel  for  him  more  reverence  than  love,  watch  his  face  and 
treasure  his  words ;  and  torture  every  one  of  them  into  em 
bodying  the  "key"  to  some  great  mystery.  Then  to  his  office, 
to  meet  his  visitors  and  counsel  with  them.  He  is  the  director 
of  every  thing.  From  the  slightest  matter  to  the  most  im 
portant,  the  Saints  all  consult  with  Brother  Brigham.  Many 
absurd  things  have  occurred  in  consequence  of  this.  Men  of 
every  trade  seek  his  advice,  and  view  it  as  a  revelation  from 
God  for  them  to  follow.  None  can  divorce  but  him,  and  to 
him  all  such  cases  come  for  investigation  and  action.  No  other 
can  give  permission  to  a  man  to  take  any  wives  subsequent  to 
the  first,  and  therefore  all  such  parties  apply  to  him.  An  old 


BBIGHAM     YOUNG     AT     HOME.  167 

lady  once  went  to  seriously  inquire  "  the  word  of  the  Lord" 
as  to  whether  red  or  yellow  flannel  was  best  to  wear  next  the 
person,  and  he  as  gravely  advised  her  to  "  wear  yellow  by  all 
means."  C.  V.  Spencer  was  married  to  two  ladies  on  the 
same  day,  and  they  disputing  as  to  priority,  he  appealed  to 
Brigham  to  determine  the  important  question.  Brigham's 
reply  was  characteristic.  No  speculation  is  entered  on,  no 
enterprise  begun  without  seeking  counsel  from  Brigham.  He 
encourages  and  commands  this  :  "  If  you  do  not  know  what 
to  do  in  order  to  do  right,"  said  he,  "  come  to  me  at  any 
time,  and  I  will  give  you  the  word  of  the  Lord  on  the  sub 
ject." — Deseret  News,  June  25th,  1856.  He  is  fully  obeyed 
in  this.  Although  it  occupies  much  time  and  involves  much 
labor,  it  is  very  admirable  policy.  It  acquaints  him  with 
every  secret  of  their  thoughts  ;  associates  him  with  every  ac 
tion  of  their  lives  ;  makes  them  feel  him  their  truest  friend,  and 
renders  him  positively  necessary  to  their  prosperity.  For 
them  to  uphold,  cherish  and  love  him  is  inevitable  ;  and  what 
ever  may  be  said  of  his  policy  as  a  leader,  or  his  conduct  as  a 
husband,  all  must  acknowledge  that  Brigham  is  as  true  to  his 
friends  as  he  is  unscrupulous  to  his  enemies. 

He  often  enmeshes  the  affairs  of  the  people,  so  that  none 
but  himself  can  disentangle  them.  A  French  soldier  once, 
seeing  a  shell  about  to  explode,  threw  himself  on  to  Napoleon 
the  Great,  and  sprang  with  him  into  a  depressed  earthwork. 
"  Look  here,"  cried  he, "  you  must  not  die.  You  have  brought 
us  into  this  scrape,  and  no  one  but  you  can  bring  us  out. 
So  it  is  with  Brigham.  Brigham,  knowing  the  business  of 
all,  can  blend  interests,  and  plan  more  successfully  than  any 


168  BRIG  II  AM     YOUNa     AT     HOME. 

one  else  ;  hence,  also,  if  any  grow  contumacious,  he  can  very 
easily  ruin  them,  without  being  seen.  A  Mr.  Howard  was  a 
Mormon  merchant,  but  grew  dissatisfied  in  1845,  and  de 
termined  to  leave  Salt  Lake.  No  sooner  was  his  intention 
known  at  head-quarters,  than  the  line  was  drawn,  and  he 
found  himself  irrevocably  entangled.  His  goods  were  seized 
and  sold  at  auction,  when  they  were  bought  in  by  the  "  Church" 
at  a  mere  nominal  amount ;  his  store  was  sold  also  and  like 
wise  bought  by  the  Church  at  their  own  price  ;  no  one  daring 
to  bid  against  this  unseen,  but  all-powerful  inviduality ;  and 
Mr.  Howard  found  himself  a  ruined  man.  His  wife  was, 
however,  a  firm  and  fervent  Mormon ;  she  pleaded  and  im 
plored  him  to  remain  ;  consented  even  to  procure  for  him  an 
other  wife.  Several  Mormons  used  their  influence  with  him ; 
the  "  Church"  threatened  its  anathema  ;  it  alluded  to  his  en 
dowment  covenants,  and  their  penalties ;  old  infatuation  was 
re-awakened,  and  Mr.  Howard  bent  his  head  to  "  the  will  of 
the  Lord ;"  was  re-baptized,  blessed,  and  returned  to  his  old 
allegiance;  helplessly  sunk  and  hopelessly  involved  in  the 
destiny  of  Monnonism.  This  case  is  but  a  sample  of  many 
similar.  Mormonism  has  adopted  Romanism  as  its  model  of 
government,  and  uses  Jesuitism  as  its  means  of  accomplishing 
its  ends,  and  controlling  its  victims.  Loyola  might  have 
learned  something  from  Brigham  Young.  So  universally  is 
this  unseen  power  felt,  although  very  seldom  traced,  that  it 
has  become  a  very  common  saying  among  the  faithful  Mor 
mons  at  Salt  Lake,  "  When  I  obey  counsel,  every  thing  pros 
pers  with  me  ;  when  I  neglect  it,  I  prosper  in  nothing."  This 
united  action  under  the  able  direction  of  one  powerful  business 


BRIGHAM     YOUNG     AT     HOME.  169 

mind,  is  the  main  cause  of  the  rapid  prosperity  of  the  Mor 
mons  ;  but  is  at  the  same  time  a  strong  evidence  of  Brig- 
ham's  administrative  tact  and  ability.  On  several  occasions, 
however,  he  has  made  great  blunders,  and  had  to  retract. 
One  very  prominent  error  was  the  attempted  settlement  of 
Carson  and  Wash-ho  Valleys.  Being  surrounded,  however, 
with  active,  enterprising  and  ambitious  men,  whom  he  must 
constantly  keep  employed,  it  would  be  astonishing  were  he 
not  frequently  to  fail.  Not  long  will  elapse  before  this  Crom 
well  shall  fall,  and  under  the  lax  administration  of  Brigham's 
"Richard,"  or  some  more  cautious  than  profound  General 
Monk,  this  meteor  shall  fade,  and 

"  The  king  shall  hae  his  ain  again." 

Brigham  Young  is  not  a  temperate  man.  He  loudly  urges 
young  men  to  quit  the  use  of  tobacco  and  liquor,  as  well  as 
tea  and  coffee.  He  made  a  solemn  covenant  before  the 
whole  Church  in  1851  that  he  would  cease  using  tobacco. 
Excited  by  his  words,  and  stimulated  by  his  example,  all  the 
men  joined  in  the  obligation,  and  much  was  thrown  away. 
Brigham  persisted  for  several  weeks ;  grew  languid  and 
nervous;  he  accidentally  met  Ira  S.  Miles,  who  was  just 
cutting  his  tobacco ;  the  temptation  overcame  the  Spartan 
heroism  of  this  would-be  Lycurgus,  and  he  asked  for  a  piece. 
It  was  given ;  Brigham  chewed  it  with  great  gusto.  "  It  is 
very  good,  brother  Ira,"  said  he.  "  That  is  a  question  be 
tween  you  and  the  Lord,  brother  Brigham,"  retorted  Ira ; 
"  Joseph  says  that  God  denounces  it  as  bad !"  Since  that 
time  the  people  have  followed  the  Prophet ;  the  children 

8 


170  BRIGHAM     YOUNG     AT     HOME. 

imitate  the  men,  and  tobacco  is  the  best  article  of  mer 
chandise  at  Salt  Lake.  Lewis  has  received  many  a  hundred 
dollars  from  many  a  Mormon  Gentile  hater. 

Not  only  with  regard  to  tobacco,  but  also  as  to  liquor, 
Brigham  is  decidedly  intemperate.  His  two  sons,  Joseph  A., 
and  Brigham,  jun.,  have  long  since  been  notorious  for  their 
indulgence ;  and  I  have  seen  Brigham  intoxicated  at  the 
same  time  that  he  was  seated  in  his  office,  pretending  to  give 
the  "  word  of  the  Lord"  to  those  who  should  consult  with 
him  !  This  was  on  the  evening  of  Monday,  April  7th,  1856. 
Mr.  Alva  L.  Smith  was  in  company  with  me,  and  he  also 
noticed  it,  and  remarked  it  to  me,  after  we  left  the  office.  It 
had  been  conference-day.  Brigham  had  spoken  but  very 
little ;  but  had  been  observed  to  have  been  "full  of  the  spirit" 
when  he  did  speak. 

The  whole  secret  of  Brigham's  influence  lies  in  his  real 
sincerity.  Brigham  may  be  a  great  man,  greatly  deceived, 
but  he  is  not  a  hypocrite.  Smith  was  an  impostor  :  that  can 
be  clearly  established.  Brigham  Young  embraced  Mormonism 
in  sincerity,  conscientiously  believed,  faithfully  practiced,  and 
enthusiastically  taught  it.  As  devoted  to  Smith  as  Kimball 
is  now  to  himself,  he  reverenced  him  as  a  Prophet,  and'loved 
him  as  a  man.  For  the  sake  of  his  religion,  he  has  over  and 
over  again  left  his  family,  confronted  the  world,  endured 
hunger,  came  back  poor,  made  wealth,  and  gave  it  to  the 
Church.  He  holds  himself  prepared  to  lead  his  people  in 
sacrifice  and  want,  as  in  plenty  and  ease.  No  holiday  friend, 
nor  summer  Prophet,  he  has  shared  their  trials,  as  well  as 
their  prosperity.  He  never  pretends  to  more  than  "  the  in 
ward  monitions  of  the  Spirit ;"  and,  not  as  Smith,  to  direct 


BRIGHAM     YOUNG     AT     HOME.  171 

revelations  and  physical  manifestations.     No  man  prays  more 
fervently,  nor  more  frequently,  than  Brigham  Young.     No 
man  can  more  win  the  hearts,  or  impress  the  minds  of  his 
hearers  than  Brigham,  while  in  prayer.     Few  men  can  per 
sist  in  believing  him  a  hypocrite,  after  hearing  him  thus 
pray,  either  in  his  family,  or  in  private  meetings,  or  in  public. 
I  am  convinced  that  if  he  be  an  impostor,  he  has  commenced 
by  imposing  on  himself.     It  is  not  impossible,  as  any  reader 
of  history  knows,  for  men  to  be  as  grossly  deceived  as  Brig- 
ham,  and  yet  be  honest  in  their  intentions.     The  Florentine 
Savanarola  is  a  strong  pertinent  illustration.     Were  it  not  for 
this  real,  constant,  evident  sincerity,  he  would  expose  himself 
before  the  entire  people,  and  fall.      He  is  a  good  specimen 
of  a  man  in  positive  earnest ;  and  what  such  a  man  can  do. 
He  is  in  earnest ;   if  he  makes  nothing  else  felt,  all  feel  this. 
Enthusiasm  is  the  secret  of  the  great  success  of  Mormon 
proselytism ;  it  is  the  universal  characteristic  of  the  people 
when  proselyted  ;  it  is  the  hidden  and  strong  cord  that  leads 
them  to  Utah,  and  the  iron  chain  that  keeps  them  there  ; 
and  it  is,  too,  the  real  reason  of  Brigham's  triumph.     This 
earnest,  obstinate,  egotistical   enthusiasm   has   been   nursed 
by  wily  men  as  deceived,  but  more  ambitious  ;  it  has  been 
fed  by  false  miracles,  justified  by  false  logic,  fanned  by  perse 
cution,  and  cemented  by  blood. 

Brigham,  however  deceived,  is  still  a  bad  man,  and  a  dan 
gerous  man  ;  and  as  much  more  dangerous,  being  sincere  in 
thinking  he  is  doing  God's  work,  as  a  madman  is  than  an 
impostor ;  one  being  accessible  to  reason  and  inducement ; 
and  the  other  knowing  no  reason  but  impotence,  and  no  in 
ducement  but  constraint. 


CHAPTER   VII. 

BRIGHAM     THE      PROPHET. 

Intention  of  Mormonisra — Smith's  prediction — Their  prayers — Christ 
coming  in  1890 — Where  ho  shall  descend — Brigham's  position — 
Brigham  on  himself — Drawing  "  the  sword  of  the  Almighty" — Shed 
ding  blood — Brigham  on  prospects  of  Utah — Fanaticism — His  army 
— His  intention,  if  arrested — His  method  of  government — Stealing — 
Bribery — On  debt  paying — Frightening  apostates — Mormon  missions 
and  missionaries — Brigham's  policy — His  successor — Joseph  Smith, 
jr. — Heber  C.  Kimball — 0.  Hyde — Parley  Pratt — Joseph  A.  Young 
— Revelations — Adam  the  God  of  this  world  and  Father  of  Jesus 
Christ. 

WE  have  viewed  Brigham  Young  as  a  man  ;  impartially 
certainly,  and  we  believe  correctly.  However  interesting  such 
an  inquiry  may  be,  it  is  more  important  that  he  be  accurately 
understood  as  a  Prophet.  Great  abilities  ever  command  re 
spect,  but  the  world  have  a  right  to  demand  the  good  use  of 
great  talents.  The  more  skill  evinced  in  crime  only  so  far  en 
hances  the  criminality. 

That  Brigham  Young  is  a  great  man,  there  can  be  no 
question  ;  that  he  is  a  great  criminal  we  shall  prove. 

The  real  object  of  the  Mormon  Church  is  the  establishment 
of  an  independent  kingdom  of  which  Brigham  shall  be  king. 
This  they  believe  is  a  temporal  kingdom  to  be  soon  set  up, 
and  to  be  begun  at  Utah,  in  fulfillment  of  ancient  and  modern 


BRIGHAM     THE     PROPHET.  173 

prophecies.  It  was  Smith's  intention  in  Missouri  and  Nauvoo. 
It  was  Brigham's  object  in  leaving  Nauvoo,  and  it  is  his  de 
sign  now  at  Salt  Lake. 

Joseph  Smith,  on  May  6,  1843,  said: 

"  If  the  government  can  not  protect  citizens  in  their  lives 
and  property,  it  is  an  old  granny  anyhow,  and  I  prophesy  in 
the  name  of  the  Lord  God  of  Israel,  that  unless  the  United 
States  redress  the  wrongs  committed  upon  the  Saints  in  the 
State  of  Missouri,  and  punish  the  crimes  committed  by  hei 
officers,  that  in  a  few  years  the  government  will  be  utterly, 
overthrown  and  wasted,  and  there  will  not  be  so  much  as  a 
potsherd  left,  for  their  wickedness  in  permitting  the  murder 
of  men,  women,  and  children,  and  the  wholesale  plunder  and 
extermination  of  thousands  of  her  citizens  to  go  unpunished." 
— Joseph  Smithes  Autobiography. 

This  speaks  for  itself,  especially  when  it  is  remembered  that 
it  is  Brigham's  favorite  dogma,  "  The  duty  of  the  Saints  is  to 
fulfill  the  predictions  of  the  Prophets." 

Not  only  do  they  try  themselves  to  accomplish  this  design, 
but  even  in  their  prayers,  make  it  the  chief  end  and  object  of 
their  existence.  President  J.  M.  Grant,  on  the  24th  July, 
1856,  the  ninth  anniversary  of  the  entry  of  the  pioneers  into 
Salt  Lake  Valley,  thus  addressed  the  Almighty  in  a  public 
meeting : 

"  May  we  accomplish  the  great  work  thou  didst  commence, 
through  thy  servant  Joseph.  May  we  have  power  over  the 
wicked  nations,  that  Zion  may  be  the  seat  of  government  for 
the  universe,  the  law  of  God  be  extended,  and  the  scepter  of 
righteousness  swayed  over  this  wide  world." — Deseret  News, 
July,  1856. 


174  BRIGHAM     THE     PROPHET. 

The  Mormons  never  intend  to  spiritualize  such  expressions 
in  their  prayers.  They  use  plain  words  to  utter  plain 
thoughts.  "Never  pray  for  any  blessing  that  you  are  not 
willing  to  help  to  obtain ;"  is  the  constantly  reiterated  doc 
trine  of  this  same  man.  With  these  men  there  are  no  figur 
ative  prophecies  about  Zion.  Christ's  kingdom  is  a  literal 
kingdom :  God's  Zion  is  a  particular  location ;  Zion's  tri 
umph  will  be  a  temporal  and  physical  victory.  Utah,  to 
these  men,  is  this  Zion ;  her  enemies,  the  American  people ; 
her  triumph,  America's  downfall;  her  reign,  the  subjuga 
tion  of  this  continent.  These  are  strange  dogmas,  but 
they  are  earnestly  believed  by  these  men ;  who  as  firmly 
think  that  it  is  the  duty  of  the  Saints  to  literally  prepare  a 
kingdom  for  Christ  to  come  to.  Nor  do  they  imagine  either 
that  it  will  be  very  long  before  he  does  thus  come.  Said  J. 
Smith,  on  April  6th,  1843  : 

"  I  prophesy  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  God,  that  the  com 
mencement  of  the  difficulties  which  will  cause  much  blood 
shed,  previous  to  the  coming  of  the  Son  of  Man,  will  be  in 
South  Carolina  (it  probably  may  arise  through  the  slave 
question) ;  this  a  voice  declared  to  me,  while  I  was  praying 
earnestly  on  the  subject,  December  25th,  1832. 

"  I  was  once  praying  very  earnestly  to  know  the  time  of 
the  coming  of  the  Son  of  Man,  when  I  heard  a  voice  repeat 
the  following :  'Joseph,  my  son,  if  thou  livest  until  thou  art 
eighty-jive  years  old,  thou  shalt  see  the  face  of  the  Son  of 
Man,  therefore,  let  this  suffice,  and  trouble  me  no  more  in  this 
matter.'  " — J.  Smith's  Autobiography. 

As  Smith  was  born  in  1805,  this  would  make  the  date 
1890.  He  often  endeavored  to  make  the  "  prophetic  num- 


BRIGHAM     THE     PROPHET.  175 

bers"  refer  to  this  1890,  A.D.  This  is  also  as  firmly  believed 
by  the  Church,  as  the  Book  of  Mormon.  It  is  one  of  the 
most  prominent  promises  made  by  the  Elders  to  those  whom 
they  bless,  that  they  "shall  live  to  behold  the  winding-up 
scene."  Smith  promised  this  to  Brigham ;  he  likewise  pub 
licly  prophesied  in  April,  1843  : 

"  There  are  those  of  the  rising  generation  who  shall  not 
taste  death  till  Christ  comes." — Ibid. 

Not  only  have  they  determined  when  he  shall  come,  but 
also  where  he  shall  come  to.  Said  Brigham,  on  September 
28th,  1856  : 

"Again,  how  does  it  contrast  with  Joseph's  being  sent 
forth  with  his  brethren  to  search  out  a  location  in  Jackson 
county,  where  the  New  Jerusalem  will  be  built,  where  our 
Father  and  our  God  planted  the  first  garden  on  this  earth, 
and  where  the  New  Jerusalem  will  come  to  when  it  comes 
down  from  heaven?" — Deseret  News,  October  8th,  1856. 

Those  who  have  entered  into  the  Celestial  Kingdom,  say 
the  Mormons,  must  be  ordained  kings  and  priests  :  Brigham 
is  thus  ordained.  He  is  the  king  to  the  people.  The  auto 
crats  of  antiquity,  or  the  early  sultans  of  Turkey,  were  not 
more  absolute  than  is  Brigham  Young. 

Said  Kimball,  September  21st,  1856  : 

"I  have  often  said  that  the  word  of  our  Leader  and 
Prophet  is  the  word  of  God  to  this  people.  We  can  not  see 
God,  we  can  not  hold  converse  with  him,  but  he  has  given  us 
a  man  that  we  can  talk  to,  and  thereby  knoiv  his  will,  just  as 
well  as  if  God  himself  ivere  present  with  us.  I  am  no  more 


1*76  BRIG  HAM     THE     PROPHET. 

afraid  to  risk  my  salvation  in  the  hands  of  this  man,  than  / 
am  to  trust  myself  in  the  hands  of  the  Almighty.  He  will 
lead  me  right  if  I  do  as  he  says  in  every  particular  and  cir 
cumstance." — Deseret  News,  October  1,  1856. 

Brigham  cites  Kimball  as  the  model  Saint.  Nor  is  this 
confined  to  him.  Grant  speaks  equally  plainly. 

"  There  is  a  spirit  of  murmuring  among  the  people,  and  the 
fault  is  laid  upon  Brother  Brigham.  For  this  reason  the 
heavens  are  closed  against  you,  for  he  holds  the  keys  of  life 
and  salvation  upon  the  earth ;  and  you  may  strive  as  much  as 
you  please,  but  not  one  of  you  will  ever  go  through  the  strait 
gate  into  the  kingdom  of  God,  except  those  that  go  through 
by  that  man  and  his  brethren,  for  they  will  be  the  persons 
whose  inspection  you  must  pass." — Deseret  News,  Dec.,  1856. 

The  means  to  be  adopted  with  reference  to  the  unbelieving 
and  those  who  will  not  hear,  are  equally  pointed  out.  Said 
J.  M.  Grant,  a  prophet,  seer,  and  revelator,  on  Sept.  21, 1856, 

"  We  have  been  trying  long  enough  with  this  people,  and 
I  go  in  for  letting  the  sword  of  the  Almighty  be  unsheathed, 
not  only  in  word  but  in  deed" — Deseret  News,  Oct.  1,  1856. 

What  this  really  means  may  be  determined  by  a  subse 
quent  paragraph. 

"  Brethren  and  sisters,  we  want  you  to  repent  and  forsake 
your  sins.  And  you  who  have  committed  sins  that  can  not 
be  forgiven  through  baptism,  let  your  blood  be  shed  and  let 
the  smoke  ascend,  that  the  incense  thereof  may  come  up  before 
God  as  an  atonement  for  your  sins,  and  that  the  sinners  in 
Zion  may  be  afraid.'11 — Ibid. 


BRIGHAM     THE     PROPHET.  17V 

And  while  this  doctrine  is  publicly  taught  and  privately 
practiced,  they  dare  to  assert  they  commit  no  murders  ! 

Brigham  is  very  candid  about  the  position  of  the  Mormons 
at  Utah.  Said  he  in  Sept.,  1856, 

"  I  say  as  the  Lord  lives,  we  are  bound  to  become  a  sove 
reign  State  in  the  Union,  or  an  independent  nation  by  our 
selves.  I  am  still,  and  still  will  be  Governor  of  this  Territory, 
to  the  constant  chagrin  of  my  enemies  ;  and  twenty-six  years 
shall  not  pass  away  before  the  Elders  of  this  Church  will  be 
as  much  thought  of  as  kings  on  their  thrones." — Deseret  News, 
Sept.  1,  1856. 

However  ridiculous  such  an  object  may  appear,  it  is  still 
the  real  design  of  these  foolishly  infatuated  people. 

As  before  remarked,  Brigham  was  ordained  a  king  in  their 
Temple;  and  the  people  in  their  hearts  reverence  him  as 
such.  As  to  the  means  they  adopt  to  begin  their  kingdom, 
they  have  private  courts  of  their  own,  in  which  they  try  their 
own  criminals.  A  United  States  appointed  judge  makes  his 
charge  to  a  Grand  Jury,  and  they  are  dismissed  to  their  room' 
The  foreman  has  been  previously  instructed  by  the  Church, 
and  he  directs  the  judgments  and  controls  the  consciences  of 
his  fellow  jurymen.  Bills  of  indictment  are  found  or  cast 
out  as  he  directs ;  and  he  directs  as  advised  by  the  "  Church." 

Should  a  Mormon  be  tried  by  a  United  States  Court  for  a 
capital  offense,  and  the  evidence  completely  convict  him,  if 
he  will  throw  himself  entirely  on  Mormon  law,  to  be  adminis 
tered  by  Mormon  authorities,  unmindful  of  the  evidence,  of 
their  oath,  or  of  the  judge's  charge,  the  jury  will  acquit  the 
prisoner ;  even  though  that  same  night,  as  the  Mormon  jury 

8* 


178  BRIGHAM     THE     PROPHET. 

of  a  Mormon  court,  they  would  pronouuce  him  guilty  without 
rehearsing  the  evidence.  Carlos  Murray  was  the  nephew  of 
Heber  C.  Kimball ;  he  was  accused  of  murder,  and  a  bill  of 
indictment  was  found  against  him.  He  was  tried  by  the 
court  in  which  Judge  Drummond  sat.  The  evidence  was 
positive,  and  all  thought  he  would  be  convicted.  He  con 
fessed  to  H.  C.  Kimball  that  he  was  guilty  of  the  crime,  but 
demanded  to  be  "  tried  and  punished  by  Mormon  law"  and 
implored  to  "  be  saved  from  hanging  by  a  Gentile  court.1'1 
The  penalty  of  both  judicatories  was  death  ;  only,  in  the  one 
case  he  would  be  "  hung  by  the  Gentiles ;"  and  in  the  other, 
he  would  be  "  shot  by  his  brethren."  Kimball  interfered,  the 
jury  were  instructed,  and  they  acquitted  Murray.  He  was 
carried  off  by  the  sheriff's  officers,  all  Mormons,  from  Fillmore 
to  Salt  Lake  City,  when  Judge  Drummond  caused  the  whole 
party  to  be  arrested,  and  brought  before  him  as  abetting 
the  escape  of  a  prisoner.  Paralyzed  under  the  duress  of  his 
position,  with  Brigham's  hand  upon  him,  and  the  excited 
populace  ready  to  commit  any  outrage,  Judge  Drummond 
was  forced  to  compound  matters,  and  the  result  was  that 
Carlos  Murray  got  completely  off.  But  the  Mormon  penalty 
was  still  over  him  ;  and  Mormonism  never  forgives,  although 
it  often  delays  the  blow.  He  was  allowed  to  live  as  long  as 
he  labored  to  "  build  up  the  kingdom  ;"  but  that  as  soon  as 
he  forgot  his  duty  or  his  obligation,  the  penalty  was  to  be 
exacted  of  him.  He  was  commanded  to  move  his  family  into 
Salt  Lake  City,  and  permitted  to  go  completely  at  large. 
The  chains  of  superstition  were  around  his  soul,  and  they  were 
far  stronger  than  any  chains  about  his  limbs.  He  went  to 


BRIGHAM     THE     PROPHET.  179 

Mary's  river,  a  distance  of  400  miles,  got  his  family,  and,  with 
the  intention  of  coming  and  living  near  the  "  authorities,"  and 
using  his  doomed  life  for  the  support  of  Mormonism,  turned 
toward  Salt  Lake.  The  Indians,  however,  revenged  their 
brother,  whom  he  had  killed,  and  murdered  him.  He  would 
have  been  killed  by  the  Mormons,  just  as  soon  as  the  supersti 
tious  terrors  had  subsided  sufficiently  to  permit  him  to  become 
disobedient  and  negligent. 

There  are  several  men  who  are  now  living  in  Utah  in  this 
condition.  Their  lives  are  forfeited  by  Mormon  law,  but 
spared  for  a  little  time  by  Mormon  policy.  They  are  certain 
to  be  killed,  and  they  know  it.  They  are  only  allowed  to  live 
while  they  add  weight  and  influence  to  Mormonism  ;  and,  al 
though  abundant  opportunities  are  given  them  for  escape,  they 
prefer  to  remain.  So  strongly  are  they  infatuated  with  their 
religion,  that  they  think  their  salvation  depends  on  their  con 
tinued  obedience,  and  their  "  blood  being  shed  by  the  ser 
vants  of  God."  Adultery  is  punished  by  death ;  and  it  is 
taught,  unless  the  adulterer's  blood  be  shed,  he  can  have  no 
remission  for  this  sin.  Believing  this  firmly,  there  are  men 
who  have  confessed  this  crime  to  Brigham,  and  asked  him  to 
have  them  killed.  Their  superstitious  fears  make  life  a  burden 
to  them ;  and  they  would  commit  suicide,  were  that  not  also 
a  crime. 

James  Monroe  had  criminal  connection  with  the  wife  of  one 
Howard  Egan  at  Salt  Lake  City,  during  his  absence.  Egan 
returned  home,  became  satisfied  of  the  circumstance,  and  de 
liberately  shot  Monroe.  Brigham  publicly  applauded  his 
action ;  George  A.  Smith,  one  of  the  Apostles,  defended  him 


180  BRIGHAM  THE  PROPHET. 

in  a  United  States  Court,  and  he  was  cheerfully  and  imme 
diately  acquitted  by  a  Mormon  jury.  The  strict  Mormon  law, 
however,  demanded  that  Egan  should  also  murder  his  wife,  as 
an  adulteress ;  his  heart  and  hand  failed,  and  he  spared  her. 
He  divorced  her  from  him ;  but  although  he  murdered  his 
dishonorer,  he  could  not  overcome  his  own  affection  for  his 
guilty  and  abandoned  wife.  He  visited,  talked  with,  wept 
over,  and,  sic  homo  est,  he  pardoned  her.  He  forgot  his  re 
sentment  and  his  divorce,  and,  according  to  Mormon  doctrine, 
committed  adultery  with  his  own  wife.  He  was  an  adulterer, 
and  the  adulterer  must  die.  He  told  Brigham,  and  offered 
his  life.  Brigham's  reply  was  peculiar : 

"  Howard,  go  to  the  friends  of  James  Monroe,  tell  them 
you  have  murdered  him,  and  if  they  take  your  life,  it  is  well. 
If  they  do  not,  go  anywhere  where  there  is  fighting ;  join  any 
party,  and  try  and  fall  in  battle ;  and,  if  you  can  not  die  there, 
go  your  way,  and  trust  in  the  mercy  of  God  and  of  your 
brethren. 

Whether  he  took  the  advice  or  not  I  do  not  know.  He  is 
now  in  California,  and  were  Brigham  to  call  -on  him  to-day  to 
return  and  be  killed,  I  fully  believe  he  would  immediately 
comply. 

Another  instance  :  Curtis  E.  Bolton,  married  a  mother  and 
daughter,  and  lived  with  both  of  them.  During  his  absence 
as  a  Mormon  missionary,  it  is  said  his  step-daughter  wife  was 
prodigal  of  favors  to  some  passing  emigrants.  On  his  re 
turn  he  divorced  her;  but,  as  she  had  no  other  home,  she 
stopped  with  her  mother,  and  called  Mr.  Bolton  father,  instead 
of  husband.  He  loved  her  still  with  more  than  a  father's 


BRIG  HAM     THE      PROPHET.  181 

affection,  and  they  sinned,  and  she  became  enceinte.  He  was 
an  adulterer;  and  by  Mormon  law,  his  life  was  foifeit.  He 
tried  to  conceal  his  crime  by  adding  to  it.  He  compelled  her 
to  take  some  virulent  drug,  to  endeavor  to  procure  abortion. 
Destroying  the  life  within  her,  she  nearly  lost  her  own.  The 
residents  of  the  twelfth  ward,  where  Bolton  lived,  learned  the 
incident.  He  was  tried  by  an  ecclesiastical  court,  condemned, 
and  cut  off  from  the  Church.  His  life  is  forfeited,  and  will 
be  taken  by-and-by  ;  but  he  still  remains  at  Salt  Lake  City,  a 
slave  to  his  own  superstition,  and,  although  so  circumstanced, 
was  appointed  in  1856  to  go  as  a  working  missionary  to 
Green  river,  among  the  Indian  tribes. 

Such  men  are  necessarily  reckless  of  all  consequences.  All 
their  safety  consists  in  their  obedience.  They  might  easily 
fly,  but  stronger  bonds  than  links  of  steel,  a  closer  prison  than 
stone  walls,  retain  them  willing  captives.  The  African  flies 
not  from  his  fetish-man  ;  the  children  of  the  Orient  never  fled 
from  their  genii ;  the  Roman  can  not  escape  the  anathema  of 
his*  priest ;  the  Tartar  cowers  before  the  grand  lama ;  and  the 
equally  devoted  Mormon  shudders  and  groans,  but  he  still  re 
mains.  It  is  not  unnatural,  it  is  only  human  nature 
degraded. 

Such  is  a  fair  specimen  of  Mormon  fanaticism.  That  these 
deluded  men  are  sincere,  madly,  absurdly  sincere,  there  can 
be  no  doubt ;  and  there  are  thousands  such  in  Utah.  These 
men  will  fight,  lie,  rob,  murder  for  Mormonism  if  commanded, 
and  really  believe  that  they  are  doing  God  good  service. 
By  means  of  such  influence  over  the  minds  of  large  bodies  of 
such  men,  Brigham  hopes  to  execute  his  designs.  Mormon- 


182  BEIGHAM  THE  PROPHET. 

ism  is  attracting  many  sensible  and  educated  men  to  its  ranks. 
Mr.  Bolton,  above  named,  is  an  educated  man,  speaks  several 
languages,  has  been  editor  of  a  French  Mormon  magazine, 
and  firmly  believes  that  he  can  establish  the  truth  of  his  faith 
and  the  propriety  of  his  devotion  from  the  holy  Scriptures ; 
and  he  can  construct  an  ingenious  argument,  too. 

Nor  does  Brigham  give  much  opportunity  to  a  jury  to  de 
cide  according  to  their  sense  of  justice,  or  their  view  of  the 
evidence  produced.  A  T.  S.  Williams  was  sued  by  a  Mr. 
Leonard  on  an  action  of  debt.  As  it  was  an  important  case, 
a  jury  was  empaneled,  consisting  of  several  of  the  Apostles 
and  some  of  the  Bishops  of  Salt  Lake  City.  They  heard  and 
decided  the  case.  As,  however,  their  verdict  did  not  suit  the 
prejudged  opinion  of  Brigham,  on  the  Sabbath  following  he 
gave  that  jury  a  most  outrageous  haranguing  for  being  "  old 
grannies,"  and  for  "  selling  their  verdict ;"  he  cursed  Williams' 
lawyer,  and  sent  him  on  a  mission  to  the  East  Indies  out  of 
spite.  Such  treatment  from  "the  Prophet"  has  rendered 
Mormon  juries  extremely  solicitous  to  know  his  opinion  before 
giving  their  verdict,  and  then  to  prove  their  confidence  in  his 
judgment  by  delivering  a  verdict  accordingly.  Hence  in,,  this 
way  Brigham's  will  is  pre-eminent  in  even  Gentile  courts  of 
law ;  and  thus  is  all  justice  frustrated  at  Utah.  To  be  on 
good  terms  with  Brigham,  is  to  secure  his  favor ;  and  to  dare 
to  oppose,  is  to  be  crushed  under  himself  and  friends.  I  could 
cite  a  dozen  instances  that  I  have  seen  of  such  favoritism.  As 
to  expecting  that  a  Gentile  can  obtain  jutsice  against  a  Mormon, 
it  is  ridiculous ;  a  jury  would  feel  they  were  sacrificing  their 
friends  to  their  enemies  in  deciding  against  their  brother. 


BRIGHAM  THE  PROPHET.  183 

Besides  these  means  of  self  government,  Brigbam  has 
adopted  another  method  of  destroying  the  influence  and  nulli 
fying  the  appointments  of  the  judges  sent  by  the  President  of 
the  United  States.  He  has  organized  Probate  and  Magistrate 
courts  throughout  the  Territory,  and  installed  in  them  his 
most  devoted  creatures.  An  appeal  can  be  made  from  the 
decisions  of  these  to  the  Supreme  Court,  but  any  application 
for  appeal  is  almost  always  refused.  To  speak  contemptuously 
of  such  courts  is  to  become  a  marked  man ;  and  ruin  and 
danger  are  the  inevitable  consequences  of  such  unfortunate 
significance. 

Brigham  not  only  has  a  nucleus  around  which  to  gather 
fanatic  disciples ;  but  he  has  also  one  about  which  to  collect 
an  army.  In  1840,  Smith  organized  the  "Nauvoo  Legion" 
and  enrolled  all  the  male  Saints  from  sixteen  to  fifty  years  of 
age.  Since  then  their  numbers  have  been  continually  in 
creasing,  as  all  are  compelled  to  enlist.  This  force,  that  still 
bears  its  old  name,  the  Nauvoo  Legion,  is  regularly  drilled  by 
competent  officers,  many  of  whom  served  in  Mexico,  with  the 
Mormon  Battalion,  under  General  W.  Scott.  They  are  well 
armed  and  perfectly  fearless.  They  completely  re-organized 
in  May,  1857.  They  have  frequent  parades,  and  likewise  oc 
cupation,  in  forays  against  the  turbulent  Indians.  The  same 
fanaticism  that  characterizes  their  worship,  or  their  labor, 
also  signalizes  their  military  evolutions.  They  do  it  with 
an  object,  and  work  at  it.  To  them  it  is  no  holiday  pastime ; 
they  do  not  play  at  soldiers.  As  devoted  to  Brigham  and  as 
convinced  of  his  authority,  they  will  as  blindly  and  cheerfully 
obey,  as  the  soldiers  of  Mohammed.  The  silk  standard  of 


184  BRIGHAM  THE  PROPHET. 

Mormonism  would  be  as  firmly  and  furiously  sustained  as  was 
the  silver  crescent. 

These  men  expect  to  fight,  and  are  preparing  for  it.  They 
even  constantly  pray  for  the  time  to  come  speedily  when  "  the 
Lord  shall  arise  as  a  man  of  war,"  when  they  can  accomplish 
the  saying  of  Isaiah,  that  they  so  love  to  quote,  "  The  nation 
and  people  that  will  not  serve  thee  shall  perish,"  Isaiah  Ix. 
12  ;  or  Smith's  prediction,  "And  the  wicked  shall  say,  Let  us 
not  go  up  to  battle  against  Zion,  for  the  inhabitants  of  Zion 
are  terrible  and  we  can  not  stand ;"  "  when  one  shall  chase 
a  thousand  and  two  put  ten  thousand  to  flight." — Doc.  Cov.t 
p.  136. 

I  presume  that  about  eight  thousand  such  soldiers  might 
be  mustered  in  Utah.  The  number  is  contemptible  as  a 
military  force,  but  fearful  as  religious  fanatics ;  ridiculous  in 
comparison  with  their  object ;  terrible  in  consideration  of 
their  delusion,  and  the  ruin  that  would  have  to  be  consum 
mated  to  subdue  them. 

I  have  heard  both  Brigham  and  Kimball  gloat  over  the 
anticipation  that  "  the  time  of  warfare  would  speedily  come." 
Said  Kimball,  "  I  will  do  as  I  did  at  Nauvoo  ;  when  they  de 
manded  our  arms  I  loaded  my  old  gun  half  way  up  to  the 
muzzle,  and  prayed  to  God  that  the  mean  cuss  who  fired  it 
off,  might  be  blown  into  atoms."  Said  Brigham,  "  I  carry 
two  loaded  revolvers  on  me  constantly,  and  the  man  who 
touches  me,  to  arrest  me,  dies.  In  the  name  of  God  I  have 
spoken  it."  There  is  not  the  slightest  question  as  to  his  keep 
ing  his  oath,  should  such  an  event  occur.  Brigham  bitterly 
reproaches  the  suffering  of  the  Saints  on  the  whole  Amer- 


BRIGHAM     THE     PROPHET.  185 

lean  people ;  but  forgets  that  it  is  Smith  and  himself  who 
have  occasioned  it.  The  criminals  are  not  the  enforcers  of  the 
law,  but  its  transgressors. 

Some  very  distressing  cases  of  extortion  have  occurred, 
with  the  connivance  and  by  the  direction  of  the  Prophet.  In 
1854,  a  Mrs.  Du  Fresne  left  the  island  of  Jersey,  Channel 
Islands,  to  come  to  the  city  of  the  Saints.  She  had  some 
money  more  than  she  needed  to  defray  her  expenses,  and  in 
tending  to  do  the  Church  a  kindness,  offered  to  lend  $2,500 
to  the  President,  S.  W.  Richards,  at  Liverpool,  for  six  months, 
and  required  no  interest.  It  was  accepted  gladly,  and  an 
order  was  drawn  on  Brigham  for  the  amount,  payable  at 
sight.  The  old  lady  came  to  Utah,  expecting  to  obtain  her 
money  as  a  fund  to  rely  on,  in  case  of  desiring  to  invest  it. 
She  presented  the  order,  it  was  dishonored.  She  demanded 
an  explanation,  and  she  was  told  she  must  either  take  a  poor 
city  lot  and  a  hovel  for  the  amount,  or  that  she  would  have 
nothing.  She  expostulated,  and  was  laughed  at;  reasoned 
with  them,  and  was  dictated  to ;  got  angry,  and  was  turned 
out  of  the  office.  Without  a  remedy  and  without  a  hope  she 
left  Salt  Lake  City  almost  penniless.  They  made  $2,500  by 
this  saint-like  transaction. 

This  nefarious  system  is  in  common  vogue  among  the 
"  authorities  in  Zion."  Some  gentlemen  in  England  were  in 
duced  by  John  Taylor  to  embark  nearly  $100,000  in  the 
purchase  of  machinery  to  manufacture  sugar  from  beet-roots, 
and  cloth,  at  Salt  Lake  City.  Great  promises  of  profit  were 
made  by  Mr.  Taylor,  both  as  a  man  and  in  his  capacity  as  an 
Apostle  of  the  Church.  The  machinery,  sheep,  and  beet- 


186  BRIGHAM     THE     PROPHET. 

seed  were  procured  and  forwarded,  and  with  them  went  these 
credulous  Saints.  At  St.  Louis,  one  of  the  gentlemen  became 
undeceived  as  to  Mr.  Taylor's  real  character  and  designs  ;  and 
left  the  Church  and  returned  to  his  business  in  Liverpool. 
The  others  went  on  to  Salt  Lake.  Brigham  took  possession 
of  the  machinery ;  M.  Delamere,  one  of  the  partners,  robbed 
and  ruined,  had  to  work  as  a  blacksmith's  assistant  to  procure 
a  livelihood  ;  Mr.  Coward,  another  of  these  victims,  went  into 
the  kanyons  and  chopped  down  fire-wood  till  he  became 
sick ;  Mr.  Russel,  another  of  these  dupes,  died,  and  the  Church 
administered  on  his  estate.  This  was  bad,  but  a  worse  tinge 
was  added  to  it.  One  of  these  gentlemen,  although  he  had 
left  a  wife  and  family  behind  him  in  England,  was  induced  to 
take  another  wife  at  Salt  Lake  City.  ,  She  was  an  intelligent, 
educated  English  lady,  but  as  deeply  infatuated  with  Mor- 
monism  as  the  rest.  With  increased  experience,  her  fanati 
cism  has  died  out,  and  his  has  also  much  faded  away ;  but 
they  are  now  irrevocably  disgraced  in  their  own  eyes  and 
irretrievably  bound  to  this  atrocious  delusion. 

Nor  is  Brigham  Young  very  chary  about  perjury,  any  more 
than  extortion  and  murder.  In  1852  beef  was  scarce  in  the 
Tithing-office  ;  and  the  church  herd  was  small,  and  very 
poor.  Brigham  Young,  through  General  Wells,  ordered  a 
young  man  named  Thomas  Clayton,  to  fetch  up  a  fat  ox  be 
longing  to  Messrs.  Holladay  and  Warner,  merchants  then 
passing  through  Salt  Lake  City.  It  was  driven  in,  killed,  and 
paid  to  the  workmen  on  the  Temple !  Messrs.  Holladay 
missed  the  ox,  traced  it  to  the  Church  slaughter-yard,  and 
prosecuted  Brigham.  The  slaughterman  was  brought  to  the 


BRIGHAM     THE     PROPHET.  187 

witness-box,  and  he  stoutly  denied  the  fact.  This  young  man 
was  now  the  important  witness.  He  might  fail,  and  Brigham 
went  to  him,  and  told  him,  "  Get  out  of  the  affair,  and  get  us 
out  of  the  affair  without  lying  if  you  can ;  but  if  you  have  to 
lie,  Tom,  don't  break  down!"  He  got  them  out  of  the  affair 
by  perjury ;  acquitting  himself,  however,  by  a  mental  reserva 
tion.  He  himself  told  me  this  incident,  and  rather  boasted 
of  it,  as  a  proof  how  "  Brigham  could  come  it  over  the  Gen 
tiles  r 

Brigham  Young  is  not  immaculate,  either,  on  the  score  of 
corruption.  Mr.  Washburn  Loomis,  from  Niagara  county, 
N.  Y.,  says,  "  he  was  sentenced  to  wear  the  ball  and  chain 
two  years,  and  was  pardoned  by  Brigham  Young  on  his  pay 
ing  him  $200  cash  in  hand.  Young  reported  that  he  had 
given  him  a  free  pardon,  and  it  was  generally  supposed  he 
had ;  but,  in  fact,  he  had  sold  him  it  for  $200.  He  required 
Mr.  Loomis  to  keep  it  a  profound  secret." 

This  individual  is,  I  believe,  still  in  California.  Like  Hor 
ace  Skimpole,  however,  Brigham  might  not  consider  this  a 
bribe,  but  "  simply  a  gift,  my  dear  young  friend." 

That  he  does  not  entertain  the  strongest  notions  of  honor 
is  very  evident  from  his  own  statements.  A.  Cyrus  Wheelock 
had  robbed  an  old  gentleman  from  Lancashire,  England,  of  a 
large  amount  of  money,  by  borrowing  without  any  intention 
of  returning  it.  On  arriving  at  Salt  Lake,  Mr.  Lee  requested 
payment,  and  was  coolly  told  by  Wheelock,  u  I  used  it  for  the 
poor  Saints  ;  I  shan't  pay  it,  and  now  what  are  you  going  to 
do  about  it?"  Mr.  Lee  appealed  to  Brigham,  who  thus 
publicly  sanctified  repudiation : 


188  BRIGHAM     THE     PROPHET. 

"  If  an  Elder  has  borrowed  from  you,  and  you  find  he  is 
going  to  apostatize,  then  you  may  tighten  the  screws  upon 
him  ;  but  if  he  is  willing  to  preach  the  Gospel  without  purse 
or  scrip,  it  is  none  of  your  business  what  he  does  with  the 
money  he  has  borrowed  from  you.  And  if  the  Lord  wants  it 
to  use,  let  it  go,  and  it  is  none  of  your  business  what  he  does 
with  it.  And  if  you  murmur  against  that  Elder,  it  will  prove 
your  damnation.  The  money  was  not  yours,  but  the  Lord 
Almighty  put  it  iuto  your  hands  to  see  what  you  would  do 
with  it." 

Out  of  his  own  mouth  Brigham  condemns  himself;  and 
yet  so  strongly  rooted  is  the  delusion  in  that  old  man's  mind, 
that  he  still  remains  in  Utah,  and  bows  his  head  to  this 
extortion  and  robbery. 

"  'Tis  true,  'tis  strange  ;  and  stranger  still,  'tis  true !" 

Still  there  are  some  who  do  leave  the  Church,  and  they 
cause  Brigham  a  great  deal  of  trouble.  His  predictions  con 
cerning  apostates  are  very  terrible  and  ridiculous.  Says  he : 

"  The  moment  a  person  decides  to  leave  this  people,  he  is 
cut  off  from  every  object  that  is  durable  for  time  and  eter 
nity,  and  I  have  told  you  the  reason  why.  Every  possession 
and  object  of  affection  will  be  taken  from  those  who  forsake 
the  truth,  and  their  identity  and  existence  will  eventually 


Annihilation,  the  heaven  of  Buddhism,  is  to  be  the  final 
hell  of  Mormonism.  Threats  of  violence,  and  the  preaching  of 
such  dogmas,  deter  many  from  leaving,  who  otherwise  would 
quit  gladly.  In  some  instances,  however,  this  severity  is  di- 


BRIG  HAM     THE     PROPHET.  189 

rected  on  the  other  side.  In  1852,  Albert  Smith,  then  living 
at  Salt  Lake  City,  differed  from  Brigham  on  some  points  of 
doctrine,  and  began  to  teach  his  heresy;  thinking  that  a 
people  who  declaimed  so  loudly  against  modern  intolerance, 
would  be  tolerant  with  regard  to  himself.  He  taught  his 
opinions  in  his  own  house ;  the  Mormons  threatened  to  tear 
it  down  over  his  head.  He  called  a  meeting  on  the  public 
square ;  the  marshal  dispersed  his  audience.  He  announced 
another  meeting ;  but  was  driven  from  the  ground,  and 
Brigham,  from  the  stand  in  the  Tabernacle,  uttered  these 
apostolic  words :  "  It  is  nasty  stinking  little  apostates  like 
these,  who  have  brought  our  enemies  upon  us ;  and  I  tell 
Albert  Smith  that  he  had  better  clear  right  out,  and  that 
right  straight,  too,  or  /  will  cut  his  damned  throat,  and  send 
him  to  hell  across  lots!!"  Albert  Smith  sold  his  property 
for  a  trifle,  and  fled  for  his  life.  Since  then,  no  one  has  had 
the  hardihood  and  simplicity  to  publicly  oppose  Mormonism. 
This  tyrannical  supervision  is  adopted  in  all  their  proceed 
ings.  Brigham  and  his  coadjutors  arrange  all  the  political  nom 
inations  in  their  ecclesiastical  council  meetings.  The  Mormon 
people  know,  that  elected  or  not,  these  men  will  have  the  seats ; 
and,  therefore,  very  few  vote,  regarding  the  whole  matter  as  a 
mere  farce,  intended  only  to  maintain  legal  form,  and  preserve 
appearances.  In  1845,  among  other  nominations  for  repre 
sentative  for  Salt  Lake  county,  was  one  A.  P.  Rockwood. 
He  was  very  much  disliked  ;  and  a  few  men  got  up  an  oppo 
sition  ticket,  substituting  the  name  of  Stephen  H.  Hales  in 
the  stead  of  this  A.  P.  Rockwood.  It  was  the  first  and  last 
opposition  ticket  in  Utah  Territory.  A  small  body  of  voters 


190  BRIGHAM     THE     PROPHET. 

were  brought,  and  Hales  obtained  the  majority,  as  very  few  had 
voted  previously  or  since.  Although  he  had  the  majority  of 
votes,  and  was  therefore  legally  elected,  Brigham  was  insulted ; 
such  dangerous  contumacy  must  be  punished,  or  it  might 
prove  dangerous.  Stephen  Hales  was  accordingly  sent  for, 
by  Brigham,  who  administered  to  him  a  severe  reprimand, 
for  daring  to  allow  his-  name  to  be  used  as  an  opponent  of 
"  the  Church  nomination ;"  and  by  duress,  he  terrified  and 
compelled  Hales  to  resign  the  election,  while  Rockwood  had 
the  seat,  and  what  to  him  was  more  important,  and  his  real 
object,  the  per  diem. 

This  tyranny  of  the  hierarchy  is  also  carried  into  private 
enterprises.  Mr.  William  Nixon  was  a  Mormon  merchant, 
very  liberal  to  the  Church,  and  to  the  people.  He  had,  in 
1845,  among  other  merchandise,  some  cooking-stoves  for  sale. 
I  was  standing  in  his  store  one  day,  when  H.  C.  Kimball  en 
tered,  and  began  to  bargain  for  one  of  these  stoves. 

Kt  How  much  do  you  ask  for  one  of  these,  Brother  Nixon  ? 

N.  So  much,  sir  (naming  the  price). 

K.  You  ask  too  much,  Brother  William.  They  are  only 
worth  so  much.  You're  growing  too  rich,  sir  ;  you're  making 
money  out  of  the  poor  Saints ;  you're  taking  advantage  of 
your  brethren. 

N.  (deprecatingly).  No,  Brother  Kimball,  you  are  wrong  ; 
they  cost  me  more  than  that ;  their  first  cost  was  thus  (making 
the  calculation). 

K.  Don't  tell  me,  sir  ;  I  know  as  well  as  you  do.  You're 
losing  your  love  for  truth ;  you're  losing  the  Spirit,  you're 
robbing  the  poor ! 


BRIGHAM     THE     PROPHET.  191 

N.  But,  sir — 

1C.  (angrily)  I  know,  I  tell  you  I  know  you,  by  the  Spirit 
within  me.  We'll  have  to  send  you  on  a  mission,  to  learn 
you  to  open  the  bowels  of  compassion  for  this  people.  You're 
getting  proud  and  lifted  up. 

JV.  You  wrong  me,  Brother  Kimball ;  take  the  stove  at  your 
own  price  ;  but  you  really  are  mistaken. 

K.  (relentingly).  Well,  it  is  necessary  to  trim  you  down  a 
little,  I  see  ;  the  Lord  bless  you,  Brother  Nixon  ! 

Mr.  Nixon  added  many  more  articles  not  included  in  the 
purchase,  and  consequently  received  a  double  blessing  from 
this  modern  Apostle.  Mr.  Nixon  got  the  blessing,  and  Mr. 
Kimball  got  the  stove.  This  ought  to  have  sufficed,  but  in 
the  fall  of  the  same  year  Mr.  Nixon  received  an  appointment 
as  missionary  to  the  Indians.  Although  it  was  made  by  one 
Prophet,  another  Prophet  overruled,  and  Brigham  cancelled 
it.  In  the  spring  of  1856  Mr.  Nixon  was  sent  to  Carson 
Valley.  He  was  a  faithful  Mormon,  and  he  obeyed  implicitly. 
He  sold  off  his  stock  at  a  ruinous  sacrifice ;  rented  his  store 
for  a  mere  nominal  amount ;  left  his  dwelling-house  vacant, 
and  several  thousands  of  dollars  due  to  him  from  many  parties  ; 
took  his  family  and  went  to  Carson.  His  enormous  loss  of 
money,  time,  and  business,  will  perhaps  teach  him  never  to 
dispute  with  H.  C.  Kim~ball  again. 

The  greatest  engine  of  Mormon  power,  without  any  ques 
tion,  is  the  missions.  There  are  men  in  Utah  whose  oratorial 
ability  and  general  information  are  far  superior  to  Brigham's. 
The  most  infatuated  can  not  help  observing  the  difference. 
To  keep  them  at  home,  would  create  schisms  innumerable ; 


192  BRIGHAM     THE      PROPHET. 

and  in  order  to  preserve  his  influence,  he  has  to  send  them 
out  to  preach.  0.  Pratt  is  never  at  Salt  Lake  without  weak 
ening  Brigham's  hold  on  some  mind,  and  therefore  he  is  al 
lowed  to  be  there  but  very  little.  It  is  not  their  best  men,  by 
any  means,  whom  the  Mormons  send  on  missions.  A  man  who 
is  wavering  in  his  faith,  and  trembling  on  the  verge  of  apostacy, 
is  sent  out  to  be  confirmed.  Too  timid,  or  too  undecided 
to  renounce  Mormonism  entirely,  he  is  compelled  to  advocate 
it.  This  is  very  admirable  and  far-seeing  policy.  Often  a 
man  is  sent  on  a  mission  to  punish  him.  A  lot  of  "  gamblers, 
thieving  lawyers,  loafers,  and  drunkards,"  were  sent,  in  the 
spring  of  1856,  to  Australia  as  missionaries.  Some  of  these 
Brigham  cursed  most  frightfully,  and  the  whole  of  them  he 
denounced.  Said  he,  "  You  have  been  raising  hell  here  long 
enough,  now  go  and  raise  little  hells  of  your  own  in  Australia." 
He  told  them  plainly,  that  he  "  sent  them  to  get  rid  of  them, 
and  that  he  never  wished  to  see  them  again."  Some  are  sent 
because  they  are  too  indolent  to  work;  some  because  they 
allow  themselves  to  talk  too  freely  about  the  authorities ; 
some  because  they  are  in  the  habit  of  getting  publicly  in 
toxicated  ;  some  because  they  are  in  the  way  of  some  ambi 
tious  man  in  power;  some  because  they  are  troublesome 
about  some  debt ;  some  because  their  creditors  dun  them ; 
some  to  England,  because  they  were  very  poor,  and  Brigham 
wanted  to  help  them  out  of  the  liberal  purses  of  the  European 
Saints.  I  can  fill  in  names  by  dozens  to  every  one  of  the 
above  examples.  The  great  idea  of  Mormonism  is,  that  "  the 
iniquity  of  the  preacher  makes  no  difference  as  to  the  purity 
of  the  principle ;  that  the  vices  of  the  administrator  can  not 


BRIGHAM  THE  PROPHET.  193 

affect  the  acceptability  of  the  ordinance,  if  he  only  possess  the 
priesthood?  Brigham  Young  lays  down  this  principle  very 
distinctly  when  speaking  of  Smith.  Said  he, 

"  The  docrine  he  teaches  is  all  I  know  about  the  matter ; 
bring  any  thing  against  that  if  you  can.  As  to  any  thing 
else,  I  do  not  care  if  he  acts  like  a  devil ;  he  has  brought 
forth  a  doctrine  that  will  save  us,  if  we  will  abide  by  it.  He 
may  get  drunk  every  day  of  his  life,  sleep  with  his  neighbor's 
wife  every  night,  run  horses  and  gamble,  I  do  not  care  any 
thing  about  that,  for  I  never  embrace  any  man  in  my  faith. 
But  the  doctrine  he  has  produced  will  save  you  and  me,  and 
the  whole  world  ;  and  if  you  can  find  fault  with  that,  find  it." 
— Deseret  News,  December,  1856. 

It  is  often  quite  useless,  therefore,  to  attempt  to  convince  a 
Mormon  of  his  error  from  the  iniquity  of  his  ministers.  They 
will  admit  the  premises,  but  deny  the  conclusion.  They 
forget  that  causes  can  only  rightly  be  judged  of  by  the 
effects  they  produce,  and  the  efficacy  of  the  principles  by 
practices ;  for  "  the  tree  must  be  known  by  its  fruits.  Do 
men  gather  figs  of  thorns,  or  grapes  from  thistles  ?" 

The  question  is  often  asked,  "  In  the  event  of  Brigham's 
death,  on  whom  will  the  presidency  fall  ?"  Opinion  is  divided 
on  this  subject.  All  the  old  Mormons  who  knew  Smith  cling 
to  his  memory,  and  believe  that  Joseph  Smith,  jun.,  now  at 
Nauvoo,  will  assume  the  position.  At  present  he  denounces 
the  practice  of  polygamy,  and  brands  Brigham  as  a  usurper. 
He  is  much  averse  to  conversing  on  the  subject ;  but  his 
grandmother  informed  me  that  he  firmly  believes  in  the  au 
thority  and  mission  of  his  father.  The  character  he  bears  at 

9 


194  BRIGHAMTHE     PROPHET. 

Nauvoo  is  a  very  high  one  for  intelligence  and  probity.  Kim- 
ball  says  of  him  and  his  brothers  : 

"  At  present  the  Prophet  Joseph's  boys  lay  apparently  in  a 
state  of  slumber,  every  thing  seems  to  be  perfectly  calm  with 
them,  but  by-and-by  God  will  wake  them  up,  and  they  will 
roar  like  the  thunders  of  Mount  Sinai." 

Still,  the  number  of  old  Mormons  is  very  limited  ;  the  flame 
of  Mormonism  dies  out  very  soon.  Brigham  remarked  this 
sadly.  Said  he,  August  17th,  1856  : 

"  How  many  of  those  before  me  were  personally  acquainted 
with  Joseph,  our  Prophet  ?  I  can  see  now  and  then  one ; 
you  can  pick  up  one  here  and  another  there ;  but  the  most 
of  the  people  now  inhabiting  this  Territory  never  beheld  the 
face  of  our  Prophet ;  even  quite  a  portion  of  this  congrega 
tion  never  beheld  his  face.  But  few  of  this  congregation 
have  been  assembled  together  more  than  a  very  few  years,  to 
receive  and  be  benefited  by  the  teachings  from  the  fount 
ain  head,  directly  from  the  living  oracles." 

This  is  the  case  with  this  delusion  everywhere.  Twenty- 
one  thousand  persons  had  emigrated  from  Europe,  from  1840 
to  1855,  to  join  the  forces  of  this  sect ;  at  least  one  half  of 
that  number  have  apostatized.  Were  it  not  for  the  impet 
uous  zeal  of  its  missionaries,  it  would  have  long  been  extinct. 

Many  believe  that  when  Brigham  dies,  Kimball  may  suc 
ceed  him  in  the  presidency.  He  is  now  the  second  man  of 
this  Mormon  hierarchy.  His  history  is  that  of  Mormonism. 
He  was  born  the  14th  of  June,  1801,  and  was  baptized  into 
Smith's  Church  in  1832.  He  met  Smith  in  the  September 
of  the  same  year ;  accompanied  him  and  Brigham  Young  to 


BRIG  HAM     THE     PROPHET.  195 

Missouri  in  1834  ;  was  ordained  an  Apostle  in  1835,  and  was 
with  Brigham  in  most  of  his  important  labors.  He  is  a 
coarse,  sensual  man  ;  calls  himself  "  Brigham's  echo ;"  is 
called  by  Young,  "  the  model  Saint."  His  sycophantic  rev 
erence  for  the  "the  President"  is  extremely  ridiculous. 
Brigham  always  wears  his  hat  in  meetings.  "  I  will  uncover 
to  God  alone,"  says  he.  Said  Kimball,  June  29,  1856,  be 
fore  3000  persons : 

"  I  never  feel  as  though  I  wanted  to  wear  my  hat  when 
Brigham  is  present.  I  consider  that  the  master  should  wear 
his  hat,  or  hang  it  on  the  peg  that  God  made  for  it,  which  is 
his  head,  of  course." 

Kimball  is  the  most  disgusting  speaker  of  the  Mormon 
community;  and  yet,  much  respected,  and  no  little  feared. 
His  resentments  are  revenges  !  His  face  exhibits  the  man. 
Although  only  thirteen  days  younger  than  Brigham,  he  is 
very  much  more  robust.  He  is  a  large,  powerful  man,  with 
the  most  complete  want  of,  and  contemptyfor  education.  He 
sometimes  boasts  he  has  more  wives  than  Brigham ;  I  only 
know  of  eighteen,  of  whom,  though  not  very/cwc?,  he  is  very 
jealous.  By  the  law  of  the  Church,  Kimball  should  succeed 
Brigham ;  but,  by  the  precedent  of  Brigham  himself,  O. 
Hyde,  the  President  of  the  Twelve  Apostles,  should  fill  the 
chair.  Kimball  lacks  the  confidence  of  many  persons.  Orson 
Hyde's  cupidity  is  too  well  known  ;  his  apostacy  in  1838  too 
well  remembered,  and  his  impetuosity  too  much  dreaded,  for 
him  ever  to  obtain  the  suffrages  of  the  people.  The  man 
who,  next  to  Brigham,  possessed  their  love,  was  Parley  Pratt, 


196  BRIGHAM  THE  PROPHET. 

and  he  is  dead — killed  in  his  sins ;  the  measure  he  has  so 
often  threatened  on  the  seducer  of  any  of  his  wives,  a  wronged 
and  maddened  husband  has  inflicted  on  him,  and  he  has  gone 
adulterous  and  bloody  into  the  presence  of  God.  May  he 
find  mercy  ! 

Brigham  Young  has  a  son,  Joseph  A.  Young.  He  was  in 
1851,  '52,  and  '53,  one  of  the  most  rowdy  young  men  in 
Utah,  celebrated  for  getting  publicly  intoxicated,  riding 
horses  to  death,  furious  driving,  etc.  From  the  whisky-shop 
and  their  pot-companions,  he  and  W.  H.  Kimball,  Kimball's 
son,  were  sent  to  England,  to  preach  Mormonism.  The  Saints, 
instead  of  being  astonished  thereat,  said  coolly,  "  Well,  that 
will  sober  them  down !"  Joseph  A..  Young  returned  to  Utah 
in  1856,  and  was  immediately  elected  member  of  the  Terri 
torial  Legislature  for  Salt  Lake  county.  What  is  his  mental 
caliber  is  not  of  course  known  thoroughly.  His  past  does 
not  speak  very  favorably  for  his  future.  If  Brigham  lives  a 
few  years  longer,  which  he  has  every  appearance  of  doing, 
and  can  prepare  the  way,  Joseph  A.  Young  will  be  the  Presi 
dent  of  the  Church.  The  Smiths  feel  the  authority  has  gone 
out  of  the  family.  Brigham  will  endeavor  to  keep  it  in  his. 
The  Smiths  were,  the  Youngs  are  now,  the  leading  men  of 
Mormonism  ;  Brigham,  President  of  the  Church ;  Joseph, 
the  President  of  the  Seventies ;  John  was  President  of  the 
High  Priesthood,  and  is  now  a  Patriarch  ;  Joseph  A.,  a  mem 
ber  of  the  Legislature,  and  certain  to  fill  the  next  important 
vacancy,  if  he  be  at  all  decorous  in  his  conduct,  so  as  not  too 
violently  to  shock  the  prejudices  of  the  people. 

Brigham  has  only  once  pretended  to  write  a  revelation,  as 


BRIGHAM     THE     PROPHET.  197 

coining  directly  from  God ;  and  that  was  when  the  Church 
was  leaving  Winter  Quarters  for  Salt  Lake  Valley.  He  then 
communicated  the  "  order  of  traveling  organization."  He 
asserts  that  Washington  was  inspired  by  God  to  fight  the 
British,  and  the  Constitution  Convention  were  inspired  to 
frame  the  Constitution  ;  and  that  he  is  only  similarly  inspired 
to  lead  the  people.  Yet  Kimball  always  proposes  to  the  vote 
of  the  Conference,  "  that  we  sustain  Brigham  Young  as  the 
Prophet,  Seer,  and  Revelator  of  the  Church."  The  people 
have  often  murmnred,  indeed,  that  Brigham  does  not  give 
"  new  revelations ;"  nor  teach  "  new  principles,"  as  Smith 
did.  As  to  the  latter,  Brigham  tried  his  skill  at  invention  in 
1852,  and  discovered  that  Adam  was  a  polygamist,  and  that 
he  was  the  God  of  this  world  ;  and  the  Lord  and  father  of 
Jesus  Christ !  This  stupendous  blasphemy  he  publicly 
taught,  saying,  "  He  is  our  God,  and  to  him  must  we  come, 
for  we  shall  never  have  another."  (Journal  of  Discourses, 
vol.  i.)  Kimball,  of  course,  seized  on  this  discovery  with 
avidity,  and  pronounced  it  the  height  of  inspiration.  Said 
he,  September  28,  1856  : 

"I  have  learned  by  experience  that  there  is  but  one  God 
that  pertains  to  this  people,  and  he  is  the  God  that  pertains 
to  this  earth,  the  first  man.  That  first  man  sent  his  Son  to 
redeem  the  world,  to  redeem  his  brethren ;  his  life  was  taken, 
his  blood  shed,  that  our  sins  might  be  remitted.  That  Son 
called  twelve  men  and  ordained  them  to  be  Apostles,  and 
when  he  departed  the  keys  of  the  kingdom  were  deposited 
with  three  of  these  twelve,  viz. :  Peter,  James,  and  John. 
Peter  held  the  keys  pertaining  to  that  Presidency,  and  he  was 
the  head." — Deseret  News,  October  8,  1856. 


198  BBIGHAM     THE     PROPHET. 

This  new  mystery  was  promulgated  in  England,  and  much 
written  about  it  in  the  "Millennial  Star,"  of  1853.  A  great 
many  disbelieved  it,  0.  Pratt  among  the  number;  many 
doubted  it,  as  it  contradicts  all  Smith's  writings  and  teach 
ings,  and  therefore  Brigham  commanded  the  Elders  to  "  lay 
it  aside,  and  not  to  teach  it  till  the  Saints  were  more  fully 
prepared  /" 

Now,  however,  Brigham  has  laid  down  the  order  of  things 
definitely.  On  May  28,  1856,  he  said  that  they  were  "the 
Apostles  of  Joseph  Smith."  Joseph  is  the  God  of  this  gen 
eration,  Jesus  is  his  God ;  Michael,  or  Adam,  is  Jesus'  God 
and  Father ;  Jehovah  is  the  God  of  Adam,  and  Jehovah  is  in 
ferior  to  Eloheim,  who  is  in  turn,  subject  to  the  grand  council 
of  assembled  gods  of  infinity.  All  of  these  are  polygamists, 
and  they  all  rule  over  their  own  descendants,  which  are  con 
stantly  increasing  in  number  and  dominion. 

This  barbarous  and  blasphemous  polytheism  comports 
strangely  with  God's  declaration,  Isaiah  xlv.  5,  6,  "  I  am  the 
Lord  and  there  is  none  else,  there  is  no  God  beside  me.  That 
they  may  know  from  the  rising  of  the  sun  and  from  the  west, 
that  there  is  none  beside  me.  I  am  the  Lord,  and  there  is 
none  else."  But  this  blasphemous  degradation  of  God  fully 
accomplishes  the  words  of  Paul,  Romans,  i.  22,  23,  "  Profess 
ing  themselves  to  be  wise,  they  became  fools  ;  and  changed 
the  glory  of  the  incorruptible  God  into  an  image,  made  like 
to  corruptible  man." 


CHAPTER   VIII. 

CHRONOLOGICAL    HISTORY    OF     MORMON ISM. 

1805.  December  23.  Joseph  Smith,  jun.,  born  at  Sharon, 
Windsor  county,  Vermont. 

1815.  April.  His  father  and  family  remove  to  Palmyra, 
"Wayne  county,  New  York. 

1820.  March.  Many  revivals  of  religion  in  western 'New 
York,  and  Smith's  mind  becomes  disturbed.  .Under 
the  preaching  of  Rev.  Mr.  Lane  he  becomes  partial  to 
the  Methodists. 

April.  Smith  pretends  to  receive  his  first  vision  while 
praying  in  the  woods.  He  asserts  that  God  the 
Father  and  Jesus  Christ  came  to  him  from  the  heav 
ens  ;  and,  like  Mohammed's  Gabriel,  told  him  that  his 
sins  were  forgiven ;  that  he  was  the  chosen  of  God  to 
reinstate  his  kingdom  and  re-introduce  the  gospel, 
that  none  of  the  denominations  were  right,  etc. 

1823.  September  21.  Smith  proved  forgetful  of  his  pretended 
revelation  and  swore,  swindled,  lied,  and  got  drunk  as 
formerly ;  but  says  that  an  angel  came  to  him  while 
he  was  in  bed,  and  told  him  of  the  existence  and  pres 
ervation  of  the  history  of  the  ancient  inhabitants  of 


200  CHRONOLOGICAL     HISTORY. 

1823.  America,  engraved  on  plates  of  gold,  and  directs  him 

where  to  find  them. 

September  22.  Goes  as  directed  and  discovers  them  in 
a  stone  box,  in  a  hill  side  between  Manchester  and 
Palmyra,  western  New  York.  He  attempts  to  take 
them,  but  is  prevented.  The  devil  and  angels  contend 
about  him ;  devil  is  whipped  and  retreats  :  he  receives 
many  instructions  from  the  angel  and  begins  prepar 
ing  himself  for  his  future. 

1827.  January  18.  Smith  married  to  Miss  Emma  Hale,  after 

ward  "  Lady  elect  of  the  Church." 
September  22.  Receives  the  "  plates"  from  the  hands 
of  the  angel. 

1828.  July/  Translation   is    suspended,   in    consequence   of 
^  Martin   Harris   stealing   one   hundred   and   eighteen 

pages  of  MS.,  which  have  never  been  replaced. 

1829.  April  17.  Translation   recommenced,  Oliver  Cowdery 
acting  as  clerk. 

May  5.  Smith  pretends  that  John  the  Baptist  came 
and  ordained  Cowdery  and  himself  "  priests ;"  and 
commanded  them  "  to  baptize  and  afterward  re-ordain 
each  other." 

1830.  Smith  was  ordained  Apostle  by  Peter,  James,  and  John. 
April  6.  The    Mormon    Church    organized    at   Man 
chester,  New  York,  and  consisted  of  J.  Smith,  sen., 
Hiram    and    Samuel    Smith,    0.    Cowdery,   Joseph 
Knight,  and  J.  Smith,  jun.     Martin  Harris,  one  of 
the  witnesses,  not  being  one  among  them  ! 

1S30.  June.  First  conference  at  Fayette,  New  York. 


CHRONOLOGICAL     HISTORY.  201 

August.  Parley  P.  Pratt  aud  Sidney  Rigdon  converted 

to  Monnonism. 
December.  Smith  is  visited  by  Rigdon. 

1831.  January.  The  Church    commanded  to  move  to  Kirt- 

land,  Ohio,  where  Rigdon  had  a  body  of  persons  con 
verted  to  Mormonism  as  a  nucleus. 

May.  The  Elders  sent  out  by  twos  to  preach. 

June  7.  The  first  endowment  given  ;  Elders  much  dis 
appointed  in  their  expectations.  Many  ordained  and 
sent  out  to  preach.  New  branches  growing  up  rapidly. 

June  1 7.  Smith  and  party  start  for  Missouri  to  search 
for  a  location  for  "  Zion." 

August  3.  Zion  determined  to  be  in  Independence, 
Jackson  county,  Mo.  Smith  dedicates  the  "  Temple 
block ;"  names  the  place  "  The  New  Jerusalem,"  and 
returns  to  Kirtland. 

August  27.  "  The  Kirtland  Safety  Society  Bank,"  store, 
mill,  and  other  mercantile  operations  commenced  by 
Smith. 

1832.  February  16.  Smith  and  Sidney  Rigdon  pretend  to  see 

in  a  vision  the  whole  destiny  of  man,  and  his  different 

degrees  of  glory  and  punishment. 
March  22.   Smith  mobbed,   tarred,  and  feathered  for 

dishonorable  dealing. 
April  2.   Smith   visits    Jackson    county,   Mo.,   where 

matters  are  in  disorder ;  the  Saints  by  their  boasts 

and  threats  enraging  the  old  citizens,  and  the  "  Church" 

quarreling  among  themselves  about  the  communism 

that  Smith  had  attempted  to  establish. 
9* 


202  CHRONOLOGICAL     HISTORY. 

1833.  March  8.  The  first  presidency  organized  by  the  ap 

pointment  of  Sidney  Rigdon  and  Frederic  G.  Wil 
liams  as  Smith's  counselors. 

July  23.  The  foundation  of  Kirtland  Temple  laid  by  Smith. 
The  mob  at  Independence,  Jackson  county,  Mo.,  rise 
against  the  Mormons,  and  extort  a  promise  of  half  to 
leave  by  January,  and  all  by  April,  1834. 

October  30.  The  mob  destroys  ten  Mormon  houses. 
Two  of  the  mobbers  are  killed  by  the  Saints.  This 
was  the  first  blood  shed,  and  the  Mormons  shed  it. 

November.  The  Mormons  fly  from  Jackson,  and  are 
kindly  received  in  Clay  county,  Mo. 

1834.  February  20.  Smith  goes  with  companies  from  Kirt 

land  to  Missouri,  to  the  relief  of  the  Saints  ;  organizes 
a  small  army,  and  begins  to  dream  of  physical  con 
quest  and  temporal  sovereignty. 

May  4.  Mormon  Church  first  called  "  The  Church  of 
Jesus  Christ  of  Latter-Day  Saints"  by  Sidney  Rigdon 
at  a  convention  at  Kirtland. 

July  9.  Smith  returns  to  Kirtland,  where  his  presence 
began  to  be  needed. 

1835.  February  14.  The  first  quorum  of  the  Twelve  Apostles 

ordained  at  Kirtland;  and  among  them  Brigham 
Young  and  Heber  C.  Kimball. 

Classes  of  instruction  and  school  of  Prophets  com 
menced.  Sidney  Rigdon  delivers  six  lectures  on 
Faith,  generally  attributed  to  J.  Smith,  being  unac 
credited  to  their  author,  and  bound  in  the  book  of 
Smith's  Eevelations  (Doctrines  and  Covenants). 


CHRONOLOGICAL     HISTORY.  203 

1836.  March  27.  The  Kirtland  Temple,  finished  at  a  cost  of 

$40,000,  is  dedicated ;  at  which  Smith  pretends  to  see 
Moses,  Elias,  and  Elijah,  who  give  him  different "  keys" 
of  priesthood,  which  guarantied  to  their  possessors 
unlimited  power  in  spiritual  and  temporal  things. 
June  29.  The  Mormons  are  requested  by  the  citizens 
to  move  from  Clay  county,  Mo.,  to  Carrol,  Davis,  and 
Caldwell  counties,  they  having  become  impudent, 
encroaching,  and  threatening.  They  wisely  decide  to 
move,  and  leave  with  friendly  arrangements. 

1837.  June  1.  0.  Hyde  and  Kimball   appointed  to  go  to 

England  as  missionaries. 

November.  Smith's  Kirtland  Safety  Society  Bank 
broke,  store  seized,  goods  sold,  and  himself  insolvent. 

1838.  January  12.  Smith  and  Rigdon  run  away  in  the  night 
from  their  creditors  in  Ohio,  who  were  threatening 
their  arrest  for  fraud. 

March.  They  arrive  in  Missouri,  and  begin  to  scatter 
the  Saints,  in  order  to  obtain  political  ascendancy 
in  other  counties  of  the  State  of  Missouri.  The  citi 
zens  commence  to  murmur  at  being  under  Mormon 
rule. 

About  this  time  Smith  pretended  to  obtain  a  revela 
tion  from  God  authorizing  him  to  practice  polygamy, 
and  began  to  practice  it  accordingly. 

July  4.  Sidney  Rigdon,  in  an  anniversary  oration, 
familiarly  called  by  the  Mormons  "  Sidney's  Salt 
Sermon,"  threatens  the  Mormon  enemies  and  apostates 
with  physical  violence. 


204  CHRONOLOGICAL     HISTORY. 

1838.  July  4.  The  Danite  Band,  or  United  Brothers  of 
Gideon,  organized,  and  placed  under  the  command  of 
David  Patten,  an  Apostle,  who  assumed  the  alias  of 
Captain  Fearnot. 

Martin  Harris,  Oliver  Cowdery,  and  David  "Whitmer, 
the  three  witnesses  to  the  Book  of  Mormon,  are 
charged  with  lying,  theft,  counterfeit-coining,  and  def 
amation  of  Smith's  character,  and  are  cut  off  from  the 
Church. 

Orson  Hyde,  Thomas  B.  Marsh,  W.  W.  Phelps,  and 
many  others  apostatize  from  the  faith,  and  give  evi 
dence  against  Smith,  accusing  him  of  being  accessory 
to  several  murders  and  many  thefts,  and  of  designing 
to  rule  that  part  of  the  State  of  Missouri,  and  event 
ually  the  whole  Republic. 

August  and  September.  Several  emeutes  occur  be 
tween  the  mobbers  and  Mormons.  The  latter  steal 
sixty  or  eighty  stand  of  arms  at  Richmond,  and  fire 
on  the  militia,  mistaking  them  for  the  mob,  at  Crooked 
river,  where  several  are  shot,  when  the  militia  return 
the  fire,  and  David  Patten  is  killed. 

September  30.  The  militia,  to  avenge  the  death  of 
their  comrades,  brutally  attack  the  Mormon  women 
and  children  at  Hawn's  Mill,  shooting  them  down  and 
burning  the  houses,  and  committing  other  barbarous 
atrocities  on  the  women. 

November.  The  Saints  are  kindly  received  at  Quincey, 
Illinois. 
Smith  arrested  and   about  to  be  shot  by  the  excited 


CHRONOLOGICAL     HISTORY.  205 

military,  but  is  handed  over  to  the  civil  authorities,  and 
is  subsequently  released. 

1839.  March  25.  Brigham  Young  and  others  relay  the  found 
ations  of  the  Temple  at  Independence,  Jackson  county, 
Mo. 

May  9.  Smith  goes  to  Commerce,  HI.,  by  invitation 
of  Dr.  Isaac  Galland,  of  whom  he  obtains  gratis  a 
large  tract  of  land,  to  induce  him  to  settle  there  with 
the  people.  He  accordingly  receives  a  revelation, 
calls  the  Saints  about  him,  and  sells  them  the  town 
lots  he  had  received  for  nothing. 

September.  Brigham  Young,  H.  C.  Kimball  and  others 
leave  for  England  as  missionaries ;  O.  Hyde,  although 
previously  appointed  by  "  revelation,"  not  accompany 
ing  them. 

October.  Smith  and  others  go  to  Washington,  to  try 
and  obtain  redress  from  Congress  for  their  injuries  in 
Missouri. 

5.  The  town  of  Commerce  chosen  a  "  Stake  of  Zion" 
by  Smith.  " 

1840.  April  21.  Commerce  changes  its  name  to  Nauvoo. 
October    3.    Mormons    begin   preparing  to  build   the 

Temple,  and  petition  the  State  Legislature  of  Illinois 
for  the  incorporation  of  Nauvoo. 

1841.  February  4.  Nauvoo  incorporation  act,  passed  in  the 

preceding   winter,   begins   to  be    in   force.     Nauvoo 
Legion  organized.    J.  Smith,  Lieutenant-General. 
April  6.  The  foundation  stones  of  Nauvoo  Temple  laid 
by  Smith,  with  grand  military  parade. 


206  CHRONOLOGICAL     HISTORY. 

1842.  May  6.  Governor  L.  W.  Boggs  of  Missouri  shot  at  by 

Orrin  Porter  Eockwell  (now  at  Salt  Lake  City),  with 
the  connivance  and  under  the  instructions  of  Joseph 
Smith. 

1843.  J.  Smith,  mayor  of  Nauvoo,  vice  J.  C.  Bennet  cut  off 

for  imitating  Smith  in  his  spiritual-wife  doctrine. 
July  12.  Smith  pretends  to  have  a  second  revelation 
on  polygamy,  in  order  to  conciliate  his  first  wife,  who 
was  angry  with  his  "  ladies." 

1844.  February  7.  J.  Smith,  as  candidate  for  the  Presidency 

of  U.  S.,  issues  his  address. 

May  6.  Smith  and  party  destroy  the  material  of  "  The 
Expositor :"  suit  issued  against  him  in  consequence. 

June  24.  The  arms  are  demanded  from  the  citizens  of 
Nauvoo  by  the  Governor  of  Illinois. 

June  27.  Joseph  Smith,  Jr.,  and  his  brother  Hiram 
are  shot  in  jail  at  Carthage,  Illinois,  by  a  gang  of 
Missourians. 

August  15.  The  Twelve  Apostles,  with  Brigham 
Young  at  their  head,  assume  the  presidency  of  the 
Church ;  and  address,  as  such,  an  epistle  to  the 
"  Saints  in  all  the  world." 

October  7.  Brigham  Young's  authority  is  fully  recog 
nized  by  the  majority  of  the  Mormon  people.  Rigdon 
and  all  the  contumacious  members  cut  off,  cursed, 
"  and  delivered  to  the  devil  to  be  buffeted  in  the  flesh 
for  a  thousand  years  !"  by  Brigham. 

1845.  January.    Nauvoo   charter   is   repealed   by    the   State 

Legislature 


CHRONOLOGICAL     HISTORY.  207 

1845.  February.  Brigham  Young  and  the  Mormon  author 

ities  begin  to  seriously  contemplate  a  general  move 
to  the  west. 

John  Taylor,  an  Apostle,  proposes  Vancouver's  Island, 
British  America.  Lyman  Wight,  also,  then  an  Apos 
tle,  proposes  Texas.  Others  suggest  California,  then 
but  little  known.  Much  dissension  as  to  locality. 
Some  valley  in  the  Rocky  Mountains  finally  selected. 

May.  The  cap-stone  of  the  Mormon  Temple  laid :  and 
endowments  soon  after  begin. 

1846.  January.  Baptizing  for   the  dead  administered  in  the 

river  Mississippi. 
20.  Pioneers  leave  Nauvoo  to  find  some  resting-place 

on  the  borders  of  Iowa.     They  select  Council  Bluffs. 
February.    Mormon    companies   cross  the  ice-covered 

river  en  route  for  Council  Bluffs. 
July.  Brigham  Young  sells  a  company  of  his  brethren 

as  a  Mexican  battalion,  for  $20,000. 
September.  Nauvoo,  in  which  many  of  the  Mormons 

were  remaining,  was  besieged  by  the  mob. 

1847.  April  14.  The  pioneers  leave  their  Winter  Quarters, 

Council  Bluffs,  Iowa,  for  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  by 
following  the  trail  of  Colonel  Fremont,  arrive  at  Salt 
Lake. 

July  23    Orson  Pratt  and  a  few  arrive  at  the  Valley. 

24.  Brigham  and  main  body  of  pioneers  enter.  This  day, 
instead  of  the  23d,  is  always  celebrated,  as  a  compli 
ment  to  Brigham,  a  species  of  sycophancy  very  custom 
ary  from  the  Mormon  people  to  the  Mormon  Prophet. 


208  CHKONOLO  GIG  AL     HISTORT. 

1847.  December  24.  Brigham  Young  nominated  "President 
of  the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  of  Latter-day  Saints  in 
all  the  World,"  at  a  special  conference.     He  appoints 
Heber  C.  Kimball  and  Willard  Richards  as  his  coad 
jutors.     JST.  B. — He  was  not  the  appointment  of  God 
but  the  choice  of  the  people,  even  by  his  own  statement. 

1848.  April  6.  His  appointment  confirmed  at  the  General 
Conference  at  Kanesville,  Iowa. 

May.  The  Saints  start  for  Salt  Lake  City,  where  they 
arrive  in  the  fall. 

September.  Some  of  the  Mormons  who  had  sailed 
from  New  York  for  San  Francisco,  expecting  the 
Church  to  locate  in  California  or  Vancouver's  Island, 
as  first  intended,  came  in  to  Salt  Lake  Valley  from 
the  west. 

1849.  March  5.  Convention  held  at  Salt  Lake  City  ;  Consti 
tution  of  State  of  Deseret  drafted  by  them,  and  Legis 
lature  elected  under  its  provisions. 

July  2.  They  send  delegates  to  Washington  to  present 
Constitution,  and  petition  for  admission  into  the  Union 
as  a  "  sovereign  and  independent  State." 

August.  Captain  Stansbury,  T.  K,  arrived  to  make 
survey  of  the  Valleys  and  of  the  Salt  Lake. 

September  9.  Bill  organizing  Utah  Territory,  signed 
by  President  Fillmore. 

1850.  February.  Brigham  takes  oath  of  office  as  Governor 
of  Utah  Territory  and  Superintendent  of  Indian  Affairs. 

April  5.  Assembly  met,  and  State  of  Deseret  was 
merged  into  Territory  of  Utah. 


CHRONOLOGICAL     HISTORY.  209 

1850.  June  5.  "Deseret  News"  commenced  under  editorial 

charge  of  Dr.  Willard  Richards,  "a  prophet,  seer, 
and  revelator." 

September.  Judges  Brocchus  Day,  Brandebury,  and 
Mr.  Secretary  Harris  arrive  at  Salt  Lake. 

22.  Mr.  Brocchus  insults  the  people.  Brigham  threat 
ens  violence,  and  the  judges  leave  Utah. 

1851.  The  Salt  Lake  Tabernacle  built. 

1853.  February  14.  Temple  excavations  commenced. 
April  6.  Corner  stones  of  Temple  laid. 

1854.  August.  Colonel  Steptoe  and  soldiers  arrive  at  Utah. 

1855.  May.  Colonel  Steptoe,  having  resigned  the  governor 
ship  of  Utah,  left  with  troops  for  California. 

August.  Judge  Drummond,  General  Burr,  Surveyor- 
General,  and  other  U.  S.  officials  arrive  at  Salt  Lake. 

1856.  May.  Judge  Drummond  left. 

1857.  April.  General  Burr  and  the  other  U.  S.  officials  leave 
Utah  and  return  to  the  States. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

ANALYSIS    OF    THE    INTERNAL    EVIDENCES    OP    THE    BOOK    OF 
MORMON. 

Introduction — The  nature  and  purport  of  the  book — Contents — Contra 
diction,  as  to  plates — As  to  Urim  and  Thummim — Hebrew  language 
— Jewish  materials  for  writing — Laban's  plates — Jewish  genealogies 
— The  copies  of  the  law — History  of  the  Jews — Various  Prophets  of 
Bible  and  Book  of  Mormon — Prediction — Contradiction  in  Book  of 
Mormon — Lehi's  compass  or  Liahona — Natural  history  of  America — 
Importations  of  stock — Elephants  in  America — Astronomical  antici 
pations  of  the  Book  of  Mormon — Contradictions  between  reputed 
authors  of  Book  of  Mormon — Solomon's  Temple  in  America — Gifts 
of  the  Spirit  before  Christ — Jared's  barges,  what  they  were  and  what 
they  brought— ^Precision  of  Book  of  Mormon  Prophets — Plagiarisms 
from  the  Scriptures — Use  of  various  terms  not  then  known — Incon 
sistency — Prophetic  apologies — Conclusion. 

MORMONISM  claims  as  its  founder,  Joseph  Smith.  The  pre 
tensions  of  the  system  depend  on  the  founder.  If  Smith  be 
an  impostor,  Mormonism  must  fall.  To  commence  an  an 
alysis  of  the  system,  we  must  begin  with  the  pretensions  of 
the  Prophet.  It  is  not  enough  for  some  to  believe  him  to 
be  a  liar.  To  say  that  one  has  a  right  to  believe  him  false,  is 
to  say  others  have  the  right  to  believe  him  true.  Belief  is 
the  effect  produced  by  evidence  on  the  mind.  '  Grounds  of 
belief  must,  therefore,  be  searched  for  in  the  evidence.  It  is 
important  to  determine  how  much  evidence  ought  to  convince 


ANALYSIS    OF    THE    BOOK    OP    MORMON.         211 

us.  To  believe  without  much  proof  is  a  sign  of  a  weak  mind. 
To  be  obstinately  skeptical  is  a  sign  of  ridiculous  vanity.  It 
is 'just  as  much  to  be  avoided  to  say,  "  I  am  the  standard  for 
every  thing,"  as  to  say  "  Every  thing  is  my  standard."  Tho 
higher  the  pretensions,  however,  the  stronger  should  be  the 
evidence  and  the  stricter  the  analysis.  An  amount  of  evi 
dence  that  would  justify  belief  in  a  trivial  matter,  would  be 
wholly  inadequate  when  offered  to  substantiate  matters  of 
vital  moment. 

The  Book  of  Mormon  claims  our  belief  as  being  a  revela 
tion  from  God,  inspired  in  its  matter  and  translation.  Is  it 
true  or  is  it  false  ?  This  inquiry  is  important.  O.  Pratt,  the 
ablest  Mormon  polemic  writer,  says,  "  The  nature  of  the  mes 
sage  in  the  Book  of  Mormon  is  such  that,  if  true,  none  can  be 
saved  and  reject  it ;  and  if  false,  none  can  be  saved  who  re 
ceive  it."  Pretensions  involving  such  important  interests  de 
mand  the  very  best  of  evidence.  Happily  for  the  world,  it  is 
not  a  question  of  events  and  persons  between  whom  and  us 
centuries  have  rolled  their  mists  of  prevarications,  contradic 
tions,  and  falsehoods.  Young  men  remember  its  rise.  Living 
witnesses  are  conversant  with  the  whole  of  its  history. 

Professing  to  be  a  revelation  from  God,  its  evidences  must 
be  worthy  of  God ;  because  God  can  do  nothing  unworthy 
himself.  God,  in  the  first  place,  would  not  send  a  book  that 
would  not  commend  itself  and  endure  critical  examination. 
God,  in  the  second  place,  would  not  send  it  in  a  manner  that 
would  not  sustain  the  most  rigid  scrutiny.  God,  in  the  third 
place,  would  not  send  it  through  a  person  whose  character 
would  not  bear  the  most  searching  inquiry. 


212          ANALYSIS     OP    THE     BOOK     OF    MORMON. 

The  nature  of  the  book,  the  circumstances  attending  its 
production,  and  the  character  of  its  producer  are  the  subjects 
proposed  for  discussion  in  the  three  ensuing  chapters. 
The  Internal  Evidences  of  Book  of  Mormon. 

I.  What  is  the  book  ? 

1.  It  purports  to  contain  a  history  of  America  from  shortly 
after  the  destruction  of  the  Tower  of  Babel,  to  the  fifth  cen 
tury  after  Christ.  It  asserts  that  this  continent  was  peopled 
by  three  different  families. 

First.  The  family  of  Jared  who  emigrated  from  the  Tower 
of  Babel,  and  whose  descendants  were  entirely  destroyed  more 
than  600  years  B.C. 

Second.  The  family  of  Lehi,  a  Manassehite,  who  emigrated, 
about  600,  B.C.,  from  Jerusalem ;  the  righteous  part  of  whose 
descendants  were  destroyed  400,  A.D.,  and  the  wicked  part  of 
whose  descendants  are  now  the  American  Indians. 

Third.  The  "  people  of  Zarahemla,"  Jews,  who  emigrated 
from  Jerusalem  about  eleven  years  after  Lehi,  and  the  de 
scendants  of  whom  were  destroyed  by  the  wars  or  mingled 
among  those  of  Lehi. 

The  history  of  the  wanderings  and  wars  of  these  several 
families  was  engraved  by  their  Prophets  on  different  plates ; 
sometimes  of  gold,  sometimes  of  brass,  and  sometimes  of 
"  ore"  (as  stated  in  the  B.  M.)  These  plates  were  religiously 
preserved  until  they  all  fell  into  the  hands  of  Mormon,  one  of 
the  descendants  of  Lehi,  who  made  an  abridgment  of  the  whole, 
A.D.  384  ;  when  he  buried  the  originals,  together  with  certain 
other  curiosities,  in  a  hill ;  handed  the  abridgment  to  his  son, 
Moroni,  to  which  Moroni  added  an  "  abridgment  of  the  his- 


ANALYSIS     OF     THE     BOOK     OF     MORMON.         213 

tory  of  the  people  of  Jared,"  and  finally  boxed  them  up  and 
buried  them  in  a  hill  in  New  York  State,  A.D.  400.  It  is  as 
serted  that  they  lay  in  this  box  till  the  22d  of  September, 
1827,  when  they  were  given  by  an  angel  to  Joseph  Smith, 
who  "  translated  them  by  the  gift  and  power  of  God."  A 
portion  of  this  translation  constitutes  the  Book  of  Mormon. 

2.  In  this  book  there  are  mentioned  certain  other  plates 
and  curiosities,  and  most  of  which,  if  the  book  be  correct, 
must  still  be  in  the  hill  "  Cum  orah,"  "between  Palmyra  and 
Manchester,  N.  Y.  A  list  of  these  curiosities  is  subjoined,  to 
aid  us  in  further  remarks  ;  the  pages  of  the  Book  of  Mormon 
(3d  European  ed.)  on  which  they  are  described,  are  also  stated : 

1.  Plates  of  Laban,  B.  M.,  pp.  9, 11,  144,  145. 

2.  Brass  genealogical  plates  of  Lehi,  B.  M.,  p.  11. 

3.  Brass  plates  of  Lehi,  afterward  abridged  by  Nephi,  B.  M., 

pp.  3,  44,  62. 

4.  Brass  plates  of  Nephi,  containing  "  more  history  part," 

B.  M.,  pp.  16,  138. 

5.  Brass  plates  of  Nephi,  containing  "  more  ministry  part," 

B.  M.,  pp.  16,  144. 

6.  Ore  plates  of  Nephi,  containing  "  mine  own  prophecies," 

B.  M.,  p.  44. 

7.  Plates   of  Zarahemla,  containing  "genealogy,"  B.  M., 

p.  140. 

8.  Plates   of  Mormon,  containing  abridgment  of  Nephi's 

"  more  ministry  part,"  B.  M.,  p.  141. 

9.  Plates  containing  record  from  "  Jacob   to   King  Ben 

jamin,"  B.M.,  p.  141. 
10.  Plates  containing  record  of  Zeniff,  B.  M.,  p.  161. 


214   ANALYSIS  OF  THE  BOOK  OP  MORMON. 

11.  Plates  (golden)  of  Ether,  B.  M.,  pp.  161,  189,  312,  516. 

12.  Plates  of  Alma's  "account   of  his   afflictions,"  B;  M., 

p.  196. 

13.  Plates,  Jared  "  brought  across  great  deep,"  B.  M.,  p.  530, 

14.  Copies  of  "  Scirptures,"   out  of  which  sons  of  Mosiah 

"studied  14  years,"  B.  M.,  pp.  255,  271. 

15.  Many  records  "  kept  by  people  who  went  northward," 

B.M.,  pp.  394,  395. 

16.  Twelve  epistles  from  different  prophets  at  various  times, 

(B.  M.,  in  loci). 

17.  The  round  ball,  or  "Compass  of  Lehi,"  B.  M.,  pp.  33, 

145,  314. 

18.  The  sword  of  Laban,  B.  M.,  pp.  8,  143,  145. 

19.  The  engraved  stone  of  Coriantumr,  B.  M.,  p.  140. 

20.  The  sixteen  stones  that  "  God  touched  with  his  finger," 

B.  M.,  p.  520. 

21.  The  two-stone  interpreters  of  Mosiah,  B.  M.,  pp.  162, 

204. 

22.  The  two-stone  interpreters  of  Jared's  brother,  B.  M.,  pp. 

522,  523. 

23.  A  white  stone,  "  Gazelem,"  B.M.,  p.  212. 

24.  A  brass  breast-plate,  found  with  Ether's  plates  (No.  11), 

B.  M.,  p.  161. 

Besides  these,  there  were  the  plates  containing  Mormon's 
abridgment  of  the  whole  history  (B.  M.,  pp.  142,  443,  444, 
507),  and  Moroni's  "  few  plates,"  B.  M.,  p.  607,  the  professed 
translation  of  which  constitutes  the  present  Book  of  Mormon. 
These  plates,  Smith  says,  were  bound  into  a  volume  by  three 
rings  passing  through  the  back  edge. 


ANALYSIS     OF     THE     BOOK     OF     MORMON.         215 

3.  There  is  one  oversighted  contradiction  that  stares  us  in 
the  face,  about  the  plates  themselves.     On  p.  507  we  are 
told  that  Mormon  buries  all  these  curiosities,  "except  these 
few  plates"  (his  abridgment  of  the  history)  which  he  gives  to 
his  son  Moroni.     On  p.  509,  we  are  told  Moroni  fills  up  his 
father's  plates,  and  says,  "  I  have  no  more  room  on  the  plates, 
and  ore  I  have  none,  for  I  am  alone."     The  plates  of  his 
father,  the  book  with  rings,  are  all  full.     He  has  no  more 
plates  nor  ore  to  make  any  of ;  and  yet,  the  matter  of  forty- 
seven  closely -printed  pages  of  pretended  translation  follows 
directly  after.     Where  does  Smith  pretend  to  have  got  the 
originals  of  the  forty-seven  pages  of  printed  translation  ?     He 
only  professed  to  find  one  set  of  ring -bound  plates,  Mormon's 
abridgment.     They  were  not  in  that,  for  Moroni  "  filled  them 
up ;"  he  did  not  make  any  more  plates,  "  for  he  had  no  ore, 
and  was  alone."     Then  where  were  the  originals  of  this  sub 
sequent  matter  ? 

4.  Another  and  a  graver   difficulty  presents   itself  next. 
Mormon,  it  is  said,  buries  all  the  curiosities,  giving  Moroni 
only  "  these  few  plates."     Moroni  fills  "  these  few  plates,"  and 
then  buries  them  up.     Joseph  Smith  says  he  found,  with 
these  plates,  the  two-stone  interpreters  of  Jared's  brother  (No. 
22  in  list),  the  breast-plate  (No.  24),  and  the  sword  of  Laban 
(No.  18).     How  could  these  few  plates,  which  Moroni  pre 
tends  to  have  buried,  be  with  these  other  curiosities,  which 
Moroni  did  not  have  ?     They  were  buried  apart,  and  yet  they 
were  found  together ! 

5.  Lehi  professes  to  live  at  Jerusalem  in  the  beginning  of 
the  reign  of  Zedekiah.     The  scenes,  characters,  and  habits 


216         ANALYSIS     OF    THE     BOOK     OF     MORMON. 

must  belong  to  this  age.  They  must  not  belong  to  a  period 
500  years  antecedent  or  posterior  to  this  time.  When  any 
thing  is  definitely  known  of  this  period,  for  the  Book  of  Mor 
mon  to  directly  contradict  it,  must  be  a  -proof  of  imposture. 
Nephi  states,  Book  of  Mormon,  page  1,  "  I  make  a  record  in 
the  language  of  my  father,  which  consists  of  the  learning  of 
the  Jews  and  the  language  of  the  Egyptians?  The  almost 
foolish  reverence  felt  by  the  Jews  for  their  Hebrew  language 
is  well  known.  They  used  to  believe  that  it  was  given  by 
God  to  Adam  in  the  garden,  and  spoken  by  man  before  the 
languages  were  confounded.  It  was  in  Hebrew  that  G-od 
had  talked  with  Abraham  and  spoke  on  Mount  Sinai.  The 
imagery  of  Job,  the  tenderness  of  David,  the  expressiveness  of 
Solomon,  the  sublimity  of  Isaiah,  were  all  in  Hebrew.  They 
thought  that  while  it  was  an  especial  gift,  it  was  almost  an 
especial  sign  to  them.  It  was  the  only  language  in  which 
they  could  name  God.  In  the  days  of  Hezekiah  the  pure 
Hebrew  of  Moses  to  David  began  to  decline.  Till  784  B.  c. 
was  the  "  golden  age"  of  Hebrew  literature.  After  this  time 
it  became  corrupted  with  its  cognate  dialects.  These  were 
Aramoean,  Syriac,  Chaldee,  Phoenician,.  Samaritan,  but  not 
Egyptian.  The  Egyptians  were  hated  by  the  Jews.  Briton 
slaves  felt  not  a  fiercer  hatred  to  the  Latin  tongue  of  their 
masters  than  the  descendants  of  the  Jewish  bondsmen  to  the 
language  of  their  Egyptian  taskmasters.  For  a  Jew  to  adopt 
so  thoroughly  the  "  language  of  the  Egyptians,"  that  a  Jewish 
prophet  should  call  the  Egyptian  the  "language  of  his  father" 
is  contradictory  to  every  thing  that  is  known  of  the  time  and 
people.  On  page  2  we  are  told  Lehi  Hved  in  "Jerusalem 


ANALYSIS     OF     THE     BOOK    OF     MORMON.         217 

all  his  days."  He  was  constantly  talking  to  the  Jews,  his 
fellow-citizens  of  the  holy  city  5  mingling  with  them  in  their 
festivities,  markets,  synagogue,  and  houses;  had  learned  to 
talk  among  them ;  had  never  left  Jerusalem  ;  continually  read 
the  prophecies,  which  were  in  Hebrew,  and  yet  we  are  told 
that  his  language  was  the  Egyptian.  Nephi  pretends  that 
God  gave  revelations  to  Lehi,  and  although  the  Eternal  had 
never  used  any  thing  but  Hebrew,  and  was  communicating  to 
a  Hebrew,  yet  we  are  informed  that  God  talked  in  the  "  lan 
guage  of  his  father,"  which  was  the  "  language  of  the  Egyp 
tians."  Is  not  this  requiring  the  world  to  believe  too  much, 
and,  therefore,  a  strong  presumptive  evidence  of  ignorant  im 
posture  ? 

6.  The  plates.  We  must  remember  that  it  is  a  Hebrew 
youth,  who  "  has  lived  at  Jerusalem  all  his  days,"  until  he 
leaves  for  "  the  wilderness."  He  had  no  other  privileges  than 
those  enjoyed  by  others  of  his  circumstances  and  time.  He 
did  as  others  did.  His  ideas  could  extend  but  very  little 
further  than  others.  The  writing  materials  then  in  use,  and 
it  was  then  only  very  few  who  could  use  them,  would  be  those 
such  a  youth  would  be  familiar  with.  Now  the  Jews  did  not 
use  plates  of  brass  at  that  time.  Their  writing  materials  were 

1.  Tablets  smeared  with  wax. 

2.  Linen  rubbed  with  a  kind  of  gum. 

3.  Tanned  leather  and  vellum. 

4.  Parchment  (invented  by  Attalus  of  Pergamos). 

5.  Papyrus.     (M.  Stuart,  O.  Test.  Can.) 

All  the  writings  of  the  Jews  long  anterior  and  subsequent 
to  Zedekiah  were  in  rolls.  (Isa.,  xxxiv.  4  ;  Jer.,  xxxvi.  25 ; 

10 


218    ANALYSIS  OF  THE  BOOK  OF  MORMON. 

Ezek.,  iii.  9,  10  ;  Ps.  xl.  7  ;  Zech.,  v.  1,  etc.,  etc.)  These 
rolls  were  chiefly  parchment  and  papyrus.  The  use  of 
papyrus  was  as  ancient  as  Hermes,  1500  B.  c.  Ancient 
monuments,  in  Mr.  Abbott's  collection,  whose  date  are  at  least 
1600  B.  c.,  bear  representations  of  the  inkstand  and  stylus. 
On  this  papyrus,  were  not  only  the  ancient  writings  of  Egypt, 
but  the  early  copies  of  the  Pentateuch.  The  use  of  this 
material  superseded  the  stones  filled  with  lead  (Job),  Hesiod's 
leaden  tables,  Solon's  wooden  planks,  the  wax  tablets,  so 
clumsy  and  easily  erased.  This  material  rolled  up  could  be 
bound  with  flax  and  sealed.  Isa.,  xxix.  1 1 ;  Dan.,  xii.  4 ; 
Rev.,  v.  1.  (Vide  Kitto,  Watson,  Calmet.)  The  Jews  used 
this  material.  The  Egyptians,  whose  language  Nephi  gives 
his  father,  used  this  material.  Had  Lehi  or  Nephi  really  lived 
then,  they  would  have  used  this  material.  Contradiction  and 
inconsistency  are  stamped  on  any  other  assertion.  This  is 
another  strong  proof  of  imposture. 

7.  From  pages  7  to  11,  Book  of  Mormon,  there  is  an  ac 
count  of  Nephi's  return  to  Jerusalem  to  steal  from  his  kins 
man,  Laban,  some  plates  of  brass,  on  which  were  engraven 
certain  matters.  He  murdered  him,  cheated  his  servant,  broke 
into  his  house,  carried  them  off,  took  the  servant  prisoner, 
and  returned  to  his  father  in  the  wilderness,  thanking  God 
for  enabling  him  to  accomplish  so  many  notable  things,  so 
worthy  of  a  prophet  and  so  honorable  to  the  Deity ! 

What  were  the  contents  of  these  plates?  On  p.  10, 
"  Then  he  (Lehi)  beheld  that  they  did  contain  the  five 
books  of  Moses,  *  *  *  and  also  a  record  of  the  Jews 
from  the  beginning  even  down  to  the  commencement  of  the 


ANALYSIS  OF  THE  BOOK  OF  MORMON.    219 

reign  of  Zedekiah,  king  of  Judah,  and  also  the  prophecies 
of  the  holy  prophets,  even  down  to  the  commencement  of 
the  reign  of  Zedekiah  ;  and  also  many  prophecies  which  have 
been  spoken  by  the  mouth  of  Jeremiah ;  *  *  *  also  a 
genealogy  of  his  fathers,  and  of  Laban,  who  was  also  a  de 
scendant  of  Joseph."  To  an  uneducated  youth  like  Joseph 
Smith,  all  this  would  not  appear  extravagant ;  but  let  us  see 
in  what  position  he  has  placed  himself. 

First.  The  genealogies  were  kept  by  public  registrars,  and 
were  written  in  Hebrew  on  rolls  of  papyrus  and  parchment, 
not  on  plates,  nor  in  the  Egyptian  language.  They  were  very 
extensive,  embracing  all  members  of  the  family,  and  were 
sacredly  preserved. — (Jfitto.)  This  mass  of  names,  embracing 
from  Joseph,  son  of  Jacob,  down  to  Lehi,  even  though  they 
had  been,  as  pretended,  engraved  on  brass  plates,  would  have 
formed  an  immense  volume  and  a  great  weight. 

Second.  They  contained  not  only  the  genealogies,  but  the 
Pentateuch.  A  few  years  before  this  reputed  time,  in  the 
reign  of  Josiah,  king  of  Judah,  "  the  book  of  the  law"  was 
lost.  Not  one  copy  was  to  be  found.  The  few  copies,  and 
they  were  few,  that  had  existed,  had  doubtless  been  destroyed 
by  Manasseh.  The  nation  was  in  the  dark,  directed  only  by 
tradition.  Eighteen  years  of  Josiah's  reign  had  thus  passed 
away.  He  had  broken  the  idols,  dispersed  the  idolaters,  re 
paired  the  Temple,  reinstated  the  high-priest ;  and  Hilkiah 
went  in  to  the  holy  of  holies  before  the  Lord.  He  "  found 
the  book  of  the  law"  hidden  in  the  house  of  the  Lord.  He 
sent  it  to  Josiah,  and  Saphan,  the  scribe,  read  it  before  the 
king ;  "  who,  when  he  had  heard  it,  rent  his  clothes."  (2 


220        ANALYSIS     OF     THE     BOOK     OF     MORMON. 

Chron.,  xxxiv.  19.)  The  only  remaining  copy  was  found  ;  and 
so  great  had  been  the  ignorance  of  its  contents,  that  all  Judea 
stood  rebuked  and  cursed.  Here,  according  to  the  Bible,  a 
few  years  before,  had  all  Judea  lost  the  law,  and  Josiah,  the 
good,  who  had  been  eighteen  years  on  his  throne,  was  so 
ignorant  of  it ;  and  now  Smith  impudently  makes  God  say 
that  Laban's  father  had  a  copy  of  this  very  same  law  en 
graved  on  brass  plates,  and  although  side  and  side  with  their 
genealogy,  and,  therefore,  all  Jerusalem  constantly  seeing  it, 
yet  entirely  ignorant  of  it!  Is  not  this  impudent  imposture  ? 

Third.  These  copies  of  the  Scriptures,  which  Smith,  soon 
after  this  period,  makes  very  common  indeed  in  America 
(Book  of  Mormon,  pp.  249,  255,  271),  were  scarce  at  any 
time  among  the  Jews.  Jehoshaphat  sent  the  Levites  and 
priests,  the  depositaries  of  the  Word,  (not  Joseph's  but  Aaron's 
descendants)  with  the  "  law  of  the  Lord"  to  the  people,  and 
they  had  to  carry  it  with  them  ;  it  was  not  where  they  went 
(2  Chrou.,  xvii.  7,  9).  So  scrupulous  were  the  Jews  in 
making  copies  of  the  Scriptures,  that  they  would  not  only 
copy  the  letter,  but  imitate  its  faults  and  even  size.  This 
involved  much  labor,  and  the  copies  were  therefore  very  few. 
To  have  told  one  of  those  old  Levites,  so  punctilious  and  even 
superstitious,  that  some  one  had  copied  their  law  in  the  lan 
guage  of  the  Egyptians  (idolaters  and  enemies)  in  the  first 
place,  and  had  it  durably  engraved  on  brass,  when  they  were 
handling  so  delicately  those  papyrus  rolls,  he  would  have 
called  it  an  infamous  imposture.  Every  wise  man  will  imi 
tate  the  skepticism  of  that  Levite. 

Fourth.  These  plates  contained,  also,  a  "record  of  the  Jews 


ANALYSIS     OF     THE     BOOK     OF     MORMON.        221 

from  the  beginning  till  the  reign  of  Zedekiah."  By  whom 
written  and  compiled  ?  The  four  books  of  Kings  and  Chroni 
cles  were  not  compiled  till  Ezra,  many  years  after  Zedekiah. 
Who  compiled  these  ? 

Fifth.  These  brass  plates  contained  "  all  the  prophecies 
of  all  the  prophets  from  the  beginning  down  to  Zedekiah," 
together  "  with  some  of  the  prophecies  of  Jeremiah."  Let  us 
glance  at  the  list.  It  embraces  the  whole  Assyrian  period : 
Joel,  Hosea,  Isaiah,  Micah,  Nahum,  Jonah.  All  these  lived  in 
the  golden  age  of  Hebrew  literature,  and  all  anterior  to  Zede 
kiah  ;  although  Smith  does  not  seem  to  have  been  aware  of  this, 
and  only  quotes  or  names  Isaiah  in  his  book.  These,  however, 
are  only  a  part  of  the  prophets  who  had  written.  Besides 
these,  there  is  the  Book  of  the  Wars  of  the  Lord,  Num., 
xxi.  14;  Jasher,  Jos.,  x.  13;  Statutes  of  Kingdom  of  Israel, 
1  Sam.,  x.  25;^Acts  of  Solomon,  1  Kings,  xi.  41 ;  Nathan  and 
Gad,  1  Chron.,  xxix.  29 ;  Ahijah  and  Iddo,  2  Chron.,  ix.  29 ; 
Shemaiah,  Jehu,  Sayings  of  the  Seers,  Isaiah's  History  of 
Uzziel,  Life  of  Hezekiah,  Life  of  Jehoshaphat,  Lamentation 
over  Josiah.  Besides  all  these,  which  must  have  been  on 
those  wonderful  plates,  if  the  Book  of  Mormon  be  true,  there 
are  prophets  mentioned  and  quoted  in  the  book,  about  whom 
our  Scriptures  and  Hebrew  history  are  silent :  Zenoch,  Zenos 
and  Ezias,  Book  of  Mormon,  pp.  411,  429,  455  ;  besides  all 
these  there  was  "Jacob's  Prophecy  about  Joseph's  Coat," 
Book  of  Mormon,  p.  336  ;  Joseph's  prophecies,  "  than  which 
not  many  greater,"  Book  of  Mormon,  p.  62.  All  this  vast 
mass  of  matter,  it  is  pretended,  was  on  these  singular  brass 
plates :  the  Pentateuch,  history,  prophecies,  and  of  course 


222        ANALYSIS     OF     THE     BOOK     OF     MORMON. 

the  Psalms,  for  was  not  David  a  prophet  ?  Add  to  all 
this  the  genealogies  of  their  families  ever  since  Abraham! 
One  man  could  never  have  carried  it  all.  A  narrative  so 
full  of  absurdities  and  positive  contradictions  of  all  fact,  can 
not  come  from  God,  and  must  therefore  be  an  imposture. 

8.  Lehi  prophesies,  on  p.  11,  "  These  plates  shall  go  forth 
to  all  nations — never  grow  dim,  nor  perish."     "  These  plates" 
are  not,  as  the  Mormons  often  try  to  apply  the  passage,  the 
plates  on  which  the  Book  of  Mormon  was  engraved,  but  the 
plates  of  Laban.     The  Mormons  claim  literal  interpretations 
of  Scripture.     It  was  the  plates  that  should  never  grow  dim, 
the  plates  that  should  never  perish,  the  plates  to  go  forth  to 
all  nations.     Where  are  they  ?  •  It  is  pretended,  Book  of  Mor 
mon,  p.  50*7,  that  Mormon  hid  them  up,  and  there  they  are 
still.     If  Laban's  plates  were  to  be  the  ones  to  go  to  all  na 
tions,  why  dig  up  Mormon's  plates  ?     If  they  both  are  to  go, 
why  not  send  both  ?     It  is  evident  that  in  commencing  the 
Book  of  Mormon,  Smith  was  not  quite  settled  as  to  the  exact 
plot  of  the  affair,  and  after  Cowdery  had  once  written  it,  it 
could  not  be  erased. 

9.  ISTephi's  ball  or  compass,  Book  of  Mormon,  p.  33,  can 
not  endure  the  application  of  any  rule  of  criticism.     "  He  be 
held  on  the  ground  a  ball  of  curious  workmanship,  and  it  was 
of  fine  brass  ;  and  within  the  ball  were  two  spindles,  and  the 
one  pointed  the  way  we  should  go  in  the  wilderness."     How 
they  could  look  into  a  brass  ball,  how  they  were  to  know 
which  one  spindle  was  the  one,  and  what  was  the  use  of  the 
other,  are  questions  that  need  some  answer,  before  believing 
that  God  inspired  so  vague  and  meaningless  a  sentence.     On 


ANALYSIS     OF    THE     BOOK     OF    MORMON.        223 

p.  35,  these  spindles,  inside  this  brass  ball,  did  not  work  in 
dependently  of  its  possessors,  but  "  according  to  the  faith  and 
diligence  and  heed  we  did  give  unto  them."  It  was  only  one 
spindle,  before,  that  pointed.  "  And  there  was  also  written  on 
them  (not  the  ball,  but  on  these  fine  spindles)  a  new  writing, 
plain  to  be  read,  which  did  give  us  understanding  concerning 
the  ways  of  the  Lord,  and  it  was  written  and  changed  from 
time  to  time."  Nephi  builds  a  ship  by  himself  in  a  few 
weeks  (it  took  Noah  and  all  his  men  120  years  to  build  his 
ark),  launches  it,  takes  this  "  compass"  on  board,  and  sails. 
His  brethren,  however,  rebel  against,  and  bind  him.  The 
miracle  of  his  compass,  the  still  greater  miracle  of  building  a 
ship,  when  he  "  had  even  to  melt  the  ore  he  found  in  the  rocks 
in  order  to  make  tools"  every  tree  to  cut  down,  and  every 
plank  to  hew  out,  and  yet  he  completes,  launches,  and  fits  it 
for  sea — all  by  himself,  and  in  a  short  time,  do  not  convince 
them.  When  they  bind  him,  the  "  compass  did  cease  to 
work,"  p.  42.  His  frightened  brethren  "  are  driven  backward 
three  days  ;"  then  "they  loosed  me,  and  I  took  the  compass, 
and  it  did  work  whither  I  desired  it."  Here  is  a  jumbled 
mass  of  vague  inconsistencies.  If  the  compass  "  ceased  to 
work"  how  could  Nephi  tell  they  were  driven  backward  or 
forward,  or  sideward  ?  As  they  had  lost  their  way,  how  did 
Nephi  know  in  which  direction  to  "  desire  it  to  work  ?"  One 
thing  is  painfully  noticeable,  Smith  is  very  cautious  not  to 
give  the  slightest  clew  as  to  where  they  sailed  from,  how  long 
they  were  reaching  that  point,  in  which  direction  it  lay  from 
Jerusalem.  All  the  rivers  and  valleys  he  makes  Lehi  name 
with  new  names.  The  little  that  is  written  about  it  only 


224          ANALYSIS     OF     THE     BOOK     OF    MORMON. 

serves  to  mislead  the  reader.  It  is  not  the  plain  honest  nar 
rative  of  an  honest  man  ;  it  certainly  is  not  the  luminous 
narrative  of  a  God-inspired  man.  Telemachus'  Mentor,  build 
ing  a  ship  on  the  island  of  Calypso,  is  rational,  compared 
with  this  statement  of  Nephi's  ship-building.  His  voyage 
across  the  island-dotted  sea  to  America  is  a  mystery  of  nav 
igation.  This  vagueness,  inconsistency,  evident  effort  at  being 
antique,  is  impossible  in  an  honest  narrator  of  facts,  ridiculous 
in  a  prophet ;  but  perfectly  natural  in  an  ignorant  impostor. 

10.  "  We  found  upon  the  land  of  promise  (Central  America) 
that  there  were  beasts  in  the  forest  of  every  kind ;  the  cow, 
and  the  ox,  and  the  ass,  and  the  horse,"  Book  of  Mormon, 
p.  44.  This  is  a  palpable  falsehood,  and  eminently  displays 
the  impostor's  hoof.  "When  horses  were  first  brought  to 
Mexico,  by  Hernando  Cortez,  they  were  objects  of  the  great 
est  astonishment  to  the  aborigines,  who  thought  they  lived 
on  flesh  as  well  as  their  riders,  and  brought  flesh  to  feed  them 
with.  They  thought  that  they  devoured  men  in  battle,  and 
that  their  neighing  was  a  demand  for  prey"  (Herera,  Dec.  ii., 
lib.  vi.)  "They  invented  a  new  weapon,  with  which  to 
catch  and  fight  them"  (Ib.,  Dec.  v.,  lib.  viii.,  quoted  Robert 
son's  History  of  America).  This  occurs  in  a  country  and 
among  a  people,  where  the  Book  of  Mormon  makes  the  horse 
a  native.  The  first  horse  the  Utah  Indians  ever  possessed, 
they  tied  up  till  it  died  of  starvation ;  they  thought  it  need 
not  eat.  South  American  horses  have  all  sprung  from  those 
introduced  by  the  Spaniards.  Cuba  obtained  her  horses 
from  Spain  ;  Mexico  got  hers  from  Cuba.  West  American 
horses  sprang  from  the  Canadian,  imported  by  the  French. 


ANALYSIS     OF     THE     BOOK     OF    MORMON.          225 

Eastern  America  from  the  importations  of  British  stock 
(Youatt  on  the  Horse,  in  loci).  It  may  be  objected  the  stock 
could  not  have  increased  so  rapidly  since  that  time,  1500  ; 
but  the  wild  horses  of  the  Ukraine  and  Tartary  have  all 
descended  frojn  a  few  that  escaped  from  their  masters  at  the 
siege  of  Azoph,  1657.  "  The  first  horses  brought  to  America 
were  imported  by  Columbus  on  his  second  voyage,  1493. 
The  first  horses  landed  in  United  States  territory,  were 
brought  to  Florida  by  Cabega  de  Vaca,  who  imported  forty- 
two  head,  1527.  De  Soto,  in  1539,  imported  a  still  larger 
number,  etc.,  etc.  (Report  of  Superintend,  of  Census,  U.  S.  A., 
1852.)  And  yet  Smith  makes  the  horse  a  native  of  America, 
which,  Book  of  Mormon,  p.  517,  he  makes  imported  in  "  air 
tight,  whale-like  barges"  from  the  plains  of  Shinar,  after  the 
destruction  of  the  Tower  of  Babel !  They  found  "  cows  and 
oxen."  Cows  and  other  domestic  animals  were  all  imported. 
Columbus,  in  1493,  brought  a  bull  and  several  cows.  In 
1553,  the  Portuguese  took  cattle  to  Nova  Scotia  and  New 
foundland.  In  1611,  Sir  Thomas  Gates  imported  100  cows 
and  some  bulls.  In  1624,  E.  Winslow  brought  3  heifers  and  1 
bull,  etc.,  etc.  (Superintendent's  Report,  Census,  1852.)  "  They 
also  found  the  ass."  "Washington  was  the  first  man  who 
imported  the  ass  into  America"  (Ency.  Americana,  Art.  Ass.) 
Since  his  time,  the  raising  of  mules  has  become  quite  a 
business  in  this  country.  To  say  that  these  animals  were 
here,  that  they  lived  till  the  fifth  Christian  century,  and  then 
became  so  extinct  as  to  leave  no  trace,  and  be  remembered 
by  no  tradition,  is  requiring  a  miracle  to  sustain  imposture. 
Smith  has  evidently  overreached  his  knowledge  of  fact.  This 

10* 


226    ANALYSIS  OF  THE  BOOK  OF  MORMON. 

contradiction  of  well-known  truths  can  not  have  been  made 
by  a  prophet,  and  is,  therefore,  positive  proof  of  imposture. 

11.  But  Smith  not  only  makes  all  these  animals  nourish 
"  in  large  flocks,"  just  subsequent  to  the  destruction  of  Babel, 
but  on  page  533,  he  says,  "The  people  had  .silks,  and  all 
manner  of  cattle  and  sheep  and  swine,  and  also  elephants  and 
cureloms  and  cumons"  What  these  cureloms  and  cumons 
mean  it  is  now  impossible  to  decide.  The  elephant  is  not  a 
native  of  America  and  never  was  its  inhabitant.  Some  bones, 
however,  were  discovered  150  miles  below  the  junction  of  the 
Scioto  with  the  Ohio  river.  Some  imagined  them  to  be  a 
mastadon.  Some  of  the  teeth  and  a  jaw  were  subsequently 
sent  to  Dr.  Hunter,  the  great  English  comparative  anatomist, 
who  decided,  "  they  belonged  to  a  huge  carnivorous  animal, 
race  extinct."  (Phil.  Trans.,  Lon.,  vol.  Iviii.,  p.  34.)  "  Similar 
bones  were  found  at  the  mouths  of  several  Siberian  rivers." 
(Strahlenburg,  p.  402.)  This  was  the  only  case  that  ever 
suggested  the  shadow  of  a  proof,  but  had  elephants  lived  here 
so  recently  as  pretended  by  the  Book  of  Mormon,  there  must 
have  been  many  proofs,  as  both  the  ancient  and  modern 
natural  history  of  this  continent  is  being  thoroughly  estab 
lished  and  known.  Sheep  ;  "  neither  North  nor  South  America 
can  boast  any  aboriginal,  primitive,  domestic  sheep ;  those 
which  have  received  the  name  of  'natives'  having  been 
brought  at  early  periods  by  the  colonists."  (American  Shep 
herd,  N.  Y.  Ag.  So.,  1854.)  Swine  are  certainly  not  aborig 
inal  to  America.  The  earliest  swine  were  imported  by  De 
Soto,  in  1539,  who  brought  13  sows.  The  Portuguese  took 
swine  to  Newfoundland,  1553.  In  1609  the  English  im- 


ANALYSIS     OF     THE     BOOK     OF     MORMON.         227 

ported  600  swine  and  many  sheep  and  fowls.  So  plentifully 
had  the  imported  swine  increased  that,  in  1627,  the  Indians 
fed  on  the  hogs  that  roamed  the  woods,  half  wild.  The 
Spaniards  took  swine  .to  their  settlements  in  southern  Amer 
ica,  where  they  also  increased  very  rapidly.  Does  not  such 
jumbling  up  of  inconsistencies  and  contradictions  not  only 
demand  the  strongest  possible  evidence  to  substantiate,  but 
become  a  positive  proof  of  forgery  and  imposture  ? 

12.  "  All  things  denote  that  there  is  a  God,  yea  even  the 
earth  and  all  things  thereon ;  yea  and  its  motion ;  yea  and 
also  all  the  planets  which  move  in  their  regular  form."  Book 
of  Mormon,  p.  293.  Here  is  the  gist  of  Paley's  design  argu 
ment  anticipated.  Not  only  the  Egyptians  but  also  the 
Greeks  and  all  the  world  accepted  Ptolemy's  theory  of  the 
solar  system.  The  earth  was  to  them  the  stationary  center, 
around  which  all  the  stars  revolved.  What  the  Jews  knew 
of  astronomy  they  had  acquired  from  the  nations  around 
them.  God  revealed  spiritual  and  not  physical  truths  !  He 
certainly  did  not  reveal  to  them  a  treatise  on  astronomy. 
Their  acceptance  of  the  Ptolemaic  theory  is  evidenced  in  all 
the  astronomical  allusions  of  Job,  David,  and  Solomon.  Be 
lieving  all  the  stars  to  move,  the  word  planet  was  neither 
needed  nor  used.  Copernicus,  when  he  discovered  that  some 
stars  moved,  while  others  were  stationary,  divided  the  heav 
enly  bodies  into  planets  (from  Gr.  planeo,  I  wander),  the  mov- 
•  ing  bodies,  and  the  fixed  stars.  The  Manassehite  Alma,  how 
ever,  is  far  wiser  than  all  the  rest  of  the  prophets.  He 
overturns  all  the  astronomical  theories,  and  just  as  an  illiter 
ate  itinerant  might,  to-day,  'use  a  weak  version  of  Paley's 


228    ANALYSIS  OP  THE  BOOK  OF  MORMON. 

argument.  It  is  a  question  of  probabilities.  Is  it  the  most 
probable  that  this  Alma  could  have  used  such  language, 
anticipated  the  discoveries  of  2000  years'  later  date,  excel  all 
the  other  prophets,  quote  the  circumstances  as  a  well-known 
fact  on  which  to  base  an  argument,  when  every  thing  we 
know  proves  it  not  to  have  been  known  at  all ;  or  is  it  the 
most  probable  to  believe  it  the  ignorant  forgery  of  an  illiterate 
impostor?  This,  however,  is  a  small  thing.  On  page  421 
there  is  an  attempted  refutation  of  the  modern  infidel  argu 
ment  about  Joshua  and  the  sun.  Smith  pretends  that  this 
argument  was  used  by  people  who  believed  the  same  theory 
of  astronomy  as  the  ancients  and  therefore  could  not  feel  its 
pertinence  and  therefore  could  not  have  used  it.  "  The  earth 
goeth  back  and  it  appeareth  unto  man  that  the  sun  standeth 
still,  yea,  and  behold  this  is  so,  for  sure,  it  is  the  earth  that 
moveth  and  not  the  sun."  Here  are  all  the  prophets  tran 
scended  ;  Ptolemy  refuted ;  Copernicus  and  all  his  discoveries 
anticipated  2000  years  before  he  was  bora.  The  only  pity 
is,  that  this  was  not  published,  however,  until  200  years  after 
he  was  dead  ! 

13.  One  great  peculiarity  of  the  Book  of  Mormon  is  the 
number  of  direct  contradictions  among  its  inspired  men.  We 
will  quote  a  few  examples.  On  page  3,  it  says  Lehi  left 
Jerusalem  because  "  God  directed  him  in  a  dream ;"  but  on 
page  411,  we  are  gravely  told  Lehi  was  "driven  out  by  the 
people"  On  page  109,  Nephi  tells  his  brethren,  "We  are 
descendants  of  the  Jews ;"  and  on  page  113,  he  says,  "the 
Jews  from  whence  I  come  ;"  yet  on  page  235,  Amalek  testi 
fies  that  "  Nephi  and  his  brethren  were  of  the  tribe  of  Ma- 


ANALYSIS  OF  THE  BOOK  OF  MORMON.    229 

nasseh"  On  page  517,  we  are  assured  that  "the  Lord  led 
Jared  and  his  brother  out  to  America ;"  but  on  page  406,  the 
reader  is  divinely  instructed  that  it  was  "  the  Devil."  All 
the  world  have  considered  America  was  a  continent ;  all  the 
writers  in  the  Book  of  Mormon  call  it  a  continent ;  but  the 
Lord  is  made  to  tell  Jacob  "  it  is  an  isle  of  the  sea."  (Book 
of  Mormon,  page  78.)  "  At  the  death  of  Christ,"  it  is  pre 
dicted  that  "  darkness  shall  cover  the  face  of  the  whole  earth 
for  three  days"  (Book  of  Mormon,  page  428.)  The  New 
Testament  says  three  hours ;  and  the  Roman  records  do  not 
even  notice  that  casualty.  It  is  certain  that  darkness  did  not 
cover  the  earth  for  three  days.  Smith  not  only  regulates  the 
motions  of  the  planets,  but  on  pages  426  and  434  he  makes  a 
"  new  star."  Not  a  brilliant  conjunction  of  stars,  but  a  bona 
fide  new  planet,  for  he  makes  it  move  too.  Where  is  it 
now? 

14.  The  Nephites  build  on  America  (Book  of  Mormon,  page 
65)  "a  temple  like  unto  Solomon's;"  and  this  poor  family 
had  come  to  this  land  destitute  a  few  years  before.  They 
"  offer  burnt  offerings  therein,"  page  145.  They  "  ordain 
high  priests"  page  208  ;  and  priests,  page  225.  If  the  Bible 
be  true,  there  could  be  but  one  temple ;  but  one  holy  of 
holies ;  but  one  high  priest.  The  location  for  that  temple 
was  to  be  Jerusalem,  the  city  of  God.  No  high  priest  could 
be  chosen  out  of  the  tribe  of  Levi  and  of  the  seed  of  Aaron. 
"  The  stranger  that  approaches  thereto  shall  surely  be  put  to 
death."  Yet  here  it  is  asserted  that  Jews  or  Manassehites 
dared  to  break  God's  most  holy  law,  administer  God's  most  holy 
ceremonies,  usurp  the  authority  of  God's  most  holy  priesthood, 


230   ANALYSIS  OF  THE  BOOK  OF  MORMON. 

and  that  the  Lord  blessed  and  sanctioned  this  violation  of  his 
word.  They  were  not  Levites ;  they  were  strangers ;  they 
did  go  into  the  holy  of  holies,  and  yet  Jehovah  falsified  his 
own  threat  and  favored  the  transgressors ! 

15.  In   the   holy   Scriptures,   we   are   informed   that  the 
Saviour  had  to  die  in  order  that  his  disciples  might  obtain  the 
gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost.     "  If  I  go  not  away,  the  Comforter 
can  not  come."     "  He,  when  he  is  come,  shall  bring  all  things 
to  your  remembrance,  and  show  you  things  to  come."     John 
xiv.     Smith  makes  the  Nephites  far  more  favored.     On  page 
234,  the  reader  is  divinely  informed,  that  "  there  had  been 
made  known  unto  them,  that  which  has  been,  which  is,  and 
which  is  to  come  ;  having  been  visited  by  the  Spirit  of  God, 
having  conversed  with  angels  and  spoken  to  by  the  voice  of 
the  Lord,  and  having  the  spirit  of  prophecy  and  the  spirit  of 
revelation,  and  also  many  gifts ;  the  gift  of  speaking  with 
tongues,  and  the  gift  of  preaching,  and  the  gift  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  and  the  gift  of  translation ;"  and  all  this,  Smith  pre 
tends,  occurred  more  than  three  hundred  years  before  Jesus 
Christ  came.     If  we  believe  the  New  Testament  is  true,  we 
must  reject  the  Book  of  Mormon  as  an  imposture. 

16.  Come  we  to  a  still  more  startling  proof  of  imposture. 
From  page  517  to  526  of  the  Book  of  Mormon  is  contained 
an  account  of   how  Jared,  his  brother,  their   families  and 
friends  were  miraculously  conducted  to  this  continent  from 
the  plains  of  Shinar.     They  are  commanded  to  gather  "  their 
herds  and  flocks,  two  of  each  kind,  male  and  female,"  also 
"  all  kinds  of  animals  after  their  kind,  male  and  female,"  also 
"  fowls  of  the  air,"  likewise  "  swarms  of  bees ;"  beside  these, 


ANALYSIS     OF     THE     BOOK     OF     MORMON.         231 

they  "did  prepare  a  vessel,  in  which  they  did  carry  with 
them  the  fish  of  the  waters,"  as  well  as  "  seeds  of  the  earth  of 
every  kind."  With  this  mass  of  material  they  cross  the 
ocean,  on  which  they  are  tossed  about  for  "  three  hundred  and 
forty  and  four  days."  (Book  of  Mormon,  page  526.)  How 
did  they  cross?  Not  only  have  they  to  take  all  these 
creatures,  but  they  have  to  carry  with  them  food  for  all  of 
them  for  a  year.  Not  only  food,  but  fresh  water  for  the 
same  length  of  time,  and  some  of  the  animals  need  so  much. 
What  means  were  adopted  ?  They  crossed  in  eight  barges, 
which  are  thus  described  (page  519)  :  "  And  they  were  small 
and  they  were  light  upon  the  water,  even  like  unto  the  light 
ness  of  a  fowl  upon  the  water ;  and  they  were  built  after  a 
manner  that  they  were  exceeding  tight,  even  that  they  would 
hold  water  like  unto  a  dish ;  and  the  bottom  thereof  was  tight 
like  unto  a  dish  ;  and  the  sides  thereof  were  tight  like  unto  a 
dish ;  and  the  ends  thereof  were  peaked ;  and  the  top  thereof 
was  tight  like  unto  a  dish ;  and  the  length  thereof  was  the 
length  of  a  tree :  and  the  door  thereof,  when  it  was  shut,  was 
tight  like  unto  a  dish."  "  And  Jared  cried  unto  the  Lord, 
we  shall  all  perish,  there  is  no  light  to  steer  by,  and  in  them 
we  can  not  breathe  for  there  is  no  air."  "  And  the  Lord  said, 
behold  thou  shalt  make  a  hole  in  the  top  thereof  and  also  in 
the  bottom  thereof;  and  when  thou  shalt  suffer  for  air,  thou 
shalt  unstop  the  hole  thereof  and  receive  air.  And  if  it  be  so 
that  the  water  come  in  upon  thee,  ye  shall  stop  the  hole 
thereof  that  ye  may  not  perish  in  the  flood."  But  the  light 
difficulty  needed  another  remedy.  "  And  Jared  did  molten 
out  of  a  rock,  sixteen  small  stones,  and  they  were  white  and 


232    ANALYSIS  OF  THE  BOOK  OF  MORMON. 

clear,  even  as  transparent  glass."  (N.  B.  Glass  at  the  time  of 
the  deluge  /)  These  stones  lie  brought  before  the  Lord,  and 
"  behold  the  Lord  stretched  forth  his  hand,  and  touched  them 
one  by  one  with  his  finger."  He  then  placed  them,  one  in 
each  end  of  his  eight  barges,  "  and  they  shone  in  the  dark 
ness."  While  they  were  "  as  a  whale  in  the  sea,  swallowed 
up  in  the  depths  of  the  sea,  and  the  mountain  waves  should 
dash  upon  them."  Eight  canoes  are  formed  of  as  many  trees, 
hollowed  out  inside,  peaked  at  the  ends,  having  a  shut  down 
door.  And  now,  Smith  pretends,  that  "  two  of  each  kind  of 
animals,"  "fowls  of  the  air,"  "swarms  of  bees,"  "a  large 
vessel  containing  fish  of  the  waters,"  "  all  manner  of  seeds  of 
the  earth,"  "  twenty-two  grown  persons  and  their  sons  and 
daughters"  (page  526),  all  the  food  they  would  need  for  a 
year,  and  all  the  fresh  water  they  would  require,  with  vessels 
in  which  to  carry  it ;  all  this  vast  amount  of  matter  is  snugly 
stowed  away  in  eight  canoes,  "  which  were  small  and  light 
like  unto  a  fowl,  and  only  the  length  of  a  tree  /"  It  would 
be  folly  to  attempt  to  apply  figures  either  as  to  their  capacity 
to  receive,  and  much  less  to  sustain  these  things.  To  attempt 
to  palm  such  a  statement  on  to  man  as  a  revelation  from  God, 
is  the  act  of  an  impostor. 

17.  God,  in  the  predictions  of  the  Bible,  has  left  a  species 
of  ambiguity.  Pretended  prophets  take  especial  care  to  leave 
nothing  vague  in  their  predictions,  when  their  prophecies  do 
not  profess  to  come  to  light  till  eighteen  hundred  years  after 
the  accomplishment  of  the  event  foretold.  This  is  peculiarly 
the  case  in  the  Book  of  Mormon,  about  the  coming  of  the 
Saviour  into  the  world.  The  most  minute  incident  of  his 


ANALYSIS     OF    THE     BOOK     OF    MORMON.        233 

life,  from  the  first  sign  of  his  advent  till  his  final  ascension,  as 
it  is  left  us  by  the  Evangelist,  is  definitely  foretold.  While, 
however,  it  predicts  every  thing  of  which  we  have  any  account, 
it  is  silent  about  those  things  of  which  we  have  no  account ! 
His  mother  should  be  a  virgin,  named  Mary,  who  should  con 
ceive  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  p.  227.  The  star  in  the  east,  p. 
426.  He  should  be  born  at  Jerusalem,  p.  227.  Not  at 
Jerusalem  but  at  Nazareth,  p.  20.  His  name  should  be 
Jesus  Christ,  pp.  76,  226.  Lamb  of  God  who  taketh  away 
the  sins  of  the  world,  Redeemer,  Maker  of  heaven  and  earth, 
coming  to  and  rejected  of  his  own,  Only-begotten,  full  of 
grace  and  truth,  High  Priest,  etc.,  pp.  17,  150,  235,  246,  223. 
His  baptism  by  John  and  descent  of  Holy  Ghost  as  a  dove,  p. 
17,  110.  Has  twelve  apostles,  heals  sick  and  casts  out  devils, 
pp.  29,  21.  Is  spittec.  on,  smitten,  scourged,  p.  45.  Cruci 
fied,  p.  21.  Three  days  in  sepulchre  and  rises  on  third  day, 
pp.  96,  150.  Ascends  into  heaven,  p.  180.  His  people  in 
America  calling  themselves  Christians  one  hundred  years 
before  he  came,  p.  335.  John's  Apocalypse,  p.  29.  Is  not 
this  "  fitting  prophecy  to  the  event  ?"  If  it  were  true,  it 
would  be  most  extraordinary  that  the  Lord  should  thus  singu 
larly  favor  these  Israelites  with  so  much  clearer  views  of  his 
scheme  of  salvation,  and,  therefore,  so  signally  neglect  the 
Jews,  when  the  Jews  were  "  his  own,"  and  he  declares  that  he 
had  "  cast  the  Israelites  out  from  his  sight." 

18.  From  page  2  to  page  428,  pretending  to  embrace  a 
period  from  600  B.  c.  to  A.  D.,  I  have  counted  no  less  than  298 
direct  quotations  from  the  New  Testament ;  some  of  them, 
paragraphs  of  verses ;  some  of  them,  sentences  from  verses. 


234    ANALYSIS  OF  THE  BOOK  OF  MORMON. 

Besides  these,  there  are  whole  chapters  of  the  Old  and  New 
Testament  copied  verbatim,  and  often  not  acknowledged. 
Below  is  the  list : 

Isaiah,  chs.  48  and  49  are  from  pages  46  and  50,  B.  M. 
(3d  European  edition). 

Isaiah,  chs.  50  and  21  are  from  pages  68  and  71,  B.  M. 

Isaiah,  chs.  2  and  14  are  from  pages  79  and  94,  B.  M. 

Isaiah,  ch.  52  is  from  page  477,  B.  M. 

Isaiah,  ch.  54  is  from  pages  480  and  481,  B.  M. 

Malachi,  ch.  3  is  from  pages  482  and  483,  B.  M. 

Matthew,  chs.  5,  6,  and  7  are  from  pages  457  and  464,  B.  M. 

1  Corinthians,  ch.  13  is  from  page  556,  B.  M. 

"  In  the  Hebrew  manuscripts  of  the  Old  Testament  there 
have  been  counted  800,000  different  readings,  as  to  conso 
nants  alone.  (M.  Stuart,  Old  Tes.  Can.,  p.  192.)  How  comes 
it  then,  with  such  a  margin  for  slight  differences,  that  all  the 
above  quotations  are  copied  in  the  exact  words  of  King 
James's  translation  ?  The  style  of  thought  and  expression  in 
the  original  of  the  Book  of  Mormon  and  these  interpolations, 
are  entirely  different.  From  the  nervous,  luminous  English 
of  the  Bible.  Smith  wallows  in  the  fogs  of  his  own  barbarous 
twaddle.  The  slightest  investigation  will  show  that  Smith 
copied  them  verbatim  from  the  English  translation  of  the 
Scriptures  ;  will  show  him  to  be  an  impostor. 

19.  I  might  urge  the  utterance  of  ideas  and  the  use  of 
words  which  these  ancient  writers,  if  genuine,  could  not  have 
known,  as  an  argument  against  the  authenticity  of  the  book? 
Such  as  "  Bible,"  not  employed  to  express  the  idea  of  the 
united  Scriptures,  till  Chrysostom,  in  the  fifth  century.     Or 


ANALYSIS     OF     THE     BOOK     OF     MORMON.         235 

"  dissenters,"  a  word  of  Latin  origin,  a  language  not  then 
known,  aud  the  word  not  employed  till  Wickliff,  and  not 
generally  till  1662,  the  great  era  of  non-conformity.  Or 
"  church,"  which  Smith  puts  into  a  Jew's  mouth,  600  B.  c. 
(B.  M.,  p.  9),  but  which  was  not  thus  employed  till  after 
Christ's  ascension.  Or  "  martyr  for  Christ,"  or  "  cimeters." 
Another  strong  evidence  of  forgery  may  be  found  on  page 
513,  "For  do  we  not  read,  that  God  is  the  same  yesterday, 
to-day,  and  forever,  and  that  in  him  is  neither  variableness 
nor  shadow  of  changing  ?"  The  first  part  of  this  sentence  is 
to  be  found  in  Paul's  epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  chapter  xiii.,  ver. 
8:  "The  same  yesterday,  to-day,  and  forever."  The  closing 
clause  was  written  by  James,  i.  17  :  "  Father  of  lights  in  whom 
there  is  no  variableness  nor  shadow  of  turning."  The  Ne- 
phites  do  not  pretend  to  have  these  epistles ;  how,  then,  could 
"  they  read"  what  they  did  not  have  ?  Smith  made  a  terrible 
oversight  here. 

20.  When  the  prophets  of  the  Scriptures  had  predictions 
to  utter  or  events  to  narrate,  conscious  of  their  authority,  they 
spoke  without  circumlocution  or  excuse.  Many  men  are 
forced  to  concede  their  dignity  who  question  their  veracity. 
With  these  compare  Smith's  pseudo  Prophets  of  the  Book  of 
Mormon ;  "  Many  shall  say  we  have  a  Bible,  and  there  can 
not  be  any  more  Bible."  (p.  107.)  "  Neither  am  I  mighty  in 
writing  like  unto  speaking."  (p.  113.)  "Condemn  me  not 
because  of  my  imperfections,  neither  my  father,  because  of  his 
imperfections,  neither  them  who  have  written  before  him,  but 
rather  give  thanks  unto  God  that  he  hath  made  manifest 
unto  you  our  imperfections,  that  ye  may  learn  to  be  more 


236        ANALYSIS     OF    THE    BOOK     OF    MORMON. 

wise  than  we  are."  (Strange  talk  for  an  inspired  Prophet  /) 
"  And  if  our  plates  had  been  sufficiently  large  we  should  have 
written  in  Hebrew,  and  if  we  could  have  written  in  Hebrew, 
behold  ye  would  have  no  imperfection  in  our  record."  (515). 
Whatever  imperfections  we  find,  therefore,  we  must  attribute 
to  the  records  not  having  been  written  in  Hebrew.  They 
were  not  written  in  Hebrew,  because  their  plates  were  not 
large  enough.  But  they  made  their  own  plates ;  they  had 
abundance  of  gold,  as  we  are  over  and  over  informed.  They 
might  have  made  their  plates,  consequently,  just  as  large  as 
they  pleased.  It  is  impious  to  charge  the  omniscient  God 
with  such  trifling  puerilities. 

The  Book  of  Mormon  consists  of  two  parts.  One  is  stolen, 
and  the  other  original.  Its  copied  part  consists  of  plagiar 
isms,  culled  from  the  commonest  books,  collected  without 
knowledge,  and  combined  without  skill.  Its  original  part  is  a 
mass  of  contradictions,  and  miracles  sublimed  into  absurd 
ities.  To  attempt  to  palm  the  whole  on  human  credulity,  as  a 
revelation  from  God,  is  folly  and  fraud. 


CHAPTER    X. 

THE    EXTERNAL   EVIDENCES    OF    THE    BOOK    OF    MORMON. 

Mormon  style  of  proof— Attacks  on  the  Bible  examined — Laws  of  evi 
dence — Contradictions  between  statements — Urim  and  Thummim — 
Affidavits  as  to  Smith's  statements — Contradiction  of  probabilities — 
"Weight  of  book — Smith's  previous  character — Affidavit  of  eleven 
citizens — Of  fifty-one — Of  different  individuals — Smith's  witnesses — 
Contradictions — 0.  Cowdery — Harris  Whitmer — Of  the  eight  wit 
nesses — Analysis  of  testimony — False  grounds  of  the  Mormons — 
Examination  of  prophetic  evidence — Summary. 

A  FEW  of  the  many  evidences  of  imposture,  contained  in 
the  Book  of  Mormon,  have  been  examined  in  the  last  chapter, 
and  the  result  of  which,  must  be  the  conclusion  that  the 
book  does  not  commend  itself,  either  to  the  judgment  or  the 
heart.  The  Mormons  have  two  ways  of  defending  their  book. 
One  is  by  a  constant  retreat  to  its  external  evidence,  and  the 
other  by  an  acrimonious  assault  on  the  Bible.  It  is  not  that 
the  nature  of  the  book  shall  prove  the  authenticity  of  its 
pretensions  ;  but  that  the  pretensions  of  the  book  shall  prove 
its  authenticity.  The  idea  is  not  to  receive  the  Prophet  for 
the  sake  of  the  book,  but  the  book  for  the  sake  of  the  Prophet. 
The  Mormons  have  ever  shrunk  from  a  full  investigation  of 
the  internal  evidences  of  their  book  ;  but  have  sought  refuge 
under  affidavits  and  testimony.  This  is  wise  policy  too,  from 


238  THE     EXTERNAL     EVIDENCES 

the  fact  that  it  is  more  easy  to  avoid  personal  attacks,  and 
cripple  personal  investigation,  than  to  protect  a  printed  book. 
The  book  remains,  awkwardly  remains  very  often,  to  refute 
its  advocates.  No  sympathies  can  be  aroused,  no  feelings 
awakened  by  critical  disquisition  ;  whereas,  all  have  so  mucli 
of  the  hero  in  them,  that  a  spice  of  romance,  a  dash  of  suffer 
ing,  plead  loudly  in  extenuation  of  grave  faults  and  serious 
deficiencies. 

To  attack  the  Bible  is  not  the  way  to  establish  their  pre 
tended  revelation.  Even  though  they  could  prove  every 
word  of  the  Bible  to  be  false,  it  would  not  prove  their  book 
to  be  true.  Not  only  would  it  not  establish  it,  but  would 
destroy  it — bury  it  under  the  mass  of  ruins  they  had  created 
It  is  not  enough  to  show  that  the  Book  of  Mormon  is  as  good 
as  the  Bible ;  it  must  be  better,  or  it  is  a  forgery.  It  must 
be  better  first,  in  the  subject-matter ;  because  the  writers  of 
the  Book  of  Mormon  pretend  to  far  greater  light  on  the  im 
portant  themes  of  human  salvation.  They  assert  that  God 
was  so  much  more  gracious  to  them,  as  to  give  them  so  much 
more  knowledge  about  the  coming,  mission,  and  death  of  the 
Saviour,  that  they  organized  churches  in  his  name ;  called 
themselves  Christians  ;  obtained  the  Spirit  with  all  its  gifts  ; 
died  martyrs  for  his  sake,  and  all  hundreds  of  years  before  he 
came,  while  the  Jewish  prophets  were  only  cheered  by  a  dim 
ray  and  comforted  by  a  hope  that  the  Messiah  would  come. 
"  They  looked  forward  to  his  day,  and  were  glad."  Men  so 
much  more  blessed,  ought  to  so  much  more  exceed  their 
comparatively  neglected  brethren.  Not  only  in  matter,  but 
it  must  excel  the  Bible  in  style.  All  that  the  translators  of 


OF     THE     BOOK     OF     MORMON.  239 

the  Bible  claim  is  strong  patience  and  unwearied  research. 
The  Book  of  Mormon  translator  claims  inspiration  as  his 
means  of  production.  With  the  Bible  it  is  only  human 
sagacity,  increased  by  labor  and  invigorated  by  study ;  with 
this  other  book,  Smith  says  that  "  therein  is  the  wisdom  of 
God  made  manifest."  As  far  then  as  the  wisdom  of  God  is 
superior  to  the  sagacity  of  men,  so  far  should  the  Book  of 
Mormon  surpass  the  Bible.  Nor  can  the  "  Saints"  shirk  this 
corollary.  The  Bible  was  handed  down  in  MSS.  with  con 
siderable  differences ;  singularly  preserved,  it  is  true,  but  not 
without  some  important  alterations.  The  Book  of  Mormon  is 
written  by  Prophets,  engraved  on  metal  plates,  hidden  by  a 
Prophet,  found  by  a  Prophet,  translated  by  revelation.  It  is 
God  throughout  on  whom  it  is  charged.  If  it  do  not  exhibit 
God  throughout,  it  is  a  forgery.  To  attempt  to  extenuate 
any  failings  on  the  plea  of  human  fallibility,  is  to  charge  weak 
ness  on  the  Omnipotent.  To  show  that  there  are  errors 
in  the  Bible,  is  a  proof  of  the  fallibility  of  the  translators.  To 
show  errors  in  the  Book  of  Mormon,  is  either  to  prove  Smith 
an  impostor,  or  it  is  to  find  God  at  fault ! 

The  book  does  not  commend  itself ;  does  the  manner  of  its 
production  commend  it  ?  It  would  be  well  to  determine  what 
are  the  laws  of  evidence  by  which  to  judge.  They  may  be 
comprised  in  the  following  formula : 

I.  Statements  must  agree  with  themselves. 

II.  Statements  must  agree  with  principles  previously  known. 

III.  Statements  must  agree  with  collateral  facts. 

IV.  Corroboration  without  collusion   among  disinterested 
witnesses 


240  THE     EXTERNAL     EVIDENCES 

V.  Their  joint  evidence  must  preponderate  over  conflicting 
testimony. 

First.  Statements  must  agree  with  themselves. 

Joseph  Smith,  born  in  1805,  sees  an  angel  in  1820,  who 
tells  him  his  sins  are  forgiven.  In  1823  he  sees  another 
angel  who  tells  him  of  the  existence  of  certain  plates,  their 
locality,  and  his  destiny  to  obtain,  translate,  and  publish 
them.  Next  morning,  22d  September,  1823,  Smith  goes  to 
the  place,  has  a  look  into  the  stone  box  containing  them, 
again  sees  the  angel,  endures  a  conflict  with  the  powers  of 
darkness,  receives  much  instruction,  and  is  finally  com 
manded  to  cover  up  the  box  for  four  years.  On  the  morn 
ing  of  22d  September,  1827,  he  goes  to  the  box  in  the  hill 
and  obtains  the  plates  with  the  "Urim  and  Thummim," 
and  commences  the  translation.  Now  what  does  he  see? 
The  plates,  about  7  by  8  inches  large,  and  about  six  inches 
thick ;  besides  these  there  were  the  "  Urim  and  Thummim, 
two  white  stones  set  in  the  rim  of  a  bow,"  and  "  a  brass 
breastplate  worn  by  the  ancients"  (vide.  J.  Smith's  Auto 
biography).  This  is  the  first  statement  with  regard  to 
the  matter.  On  page  189  of  Smith's  Revelations  (Doc 
trines  and  Covenants)  is  another  statement  in  which  "the 
sword  of  Laban  and  the  brass  director  of  ISTephi"  were  added 
to  the  list.  Which  is  true  ?  If  he  only  saw  the  plates,  in 
terpreters,  and  breastplate,  as  he  said  he  did  in  his  early 
statements,  how  comes  he  to  change  it  two  years  after 
ward?  Whichever  is  true,  or  if  they  both  be  false,  the 
first-law  evidence  would  determine  his  rejection. 

Another  very  serious   discrepancy  occurs  as  to  this  Urim 


OF     THE     BOOK     OF     MORMON.  241 

and  Thummim.  In  the  Book  of  Mormon  there  are  two  men 
tioned.  One,  p.  522,  is  possessed  by  Jared's  brother,  who 
seals  them  up  with  his  plates,  and  hides  them.  These  plates 
and  interpreters,  according  to  the  Book  of  Mormon,  have 
never  been  found.  Ether,  the  last  surviving  descendant  of 
Jared's  company,  engraves  a  succinct  history  of  his  fore 
fathers  on  twenty-four  golden  plates  and  dies,  p.  549.  These 
plates  of  Ether  are  found  by  the  people  of  Limbi,  about  120 
B.  c.,  p.  161.  With  these  plates  was  brought  the  breast-plate 
referred  to,  but  with  them  neither  the  plates  of  Jared's  brother, 
nor  his  interpreters.  They  have  not  been  found.  Be 
sides  these,  there  is  another  pair  of  interpreters,  possessed  by 
one  Mosiah,  who  declares  he  received  them,  they  "  having 
been  handed  down  from  generation  to  generation,"  p.  204. 
All  that  Mosiah  knew  about  Jared  was  by  means  of  Ether's 
plates  of  gold  which  he  interpreted  by  his  two  interpreters. 
The  interpreters  of  Mosiah  were  handed  down  to  Mormon.  If 
the  Book  of  Mormon  be  true,  these  must  be  the  interpreters 
Smith ,  obtained ;  but,  in  his  Revelations,  p.  189,  two  years 
after,  he  says,  "  they  were  those  given  to  Jared's  brother." 
Here  is  a  palpable  contradiction  between  Smith  in  the  Book 
of  Mormon  and  Smith  in  the  Doctrines  and  Revelations,  and 
by  the  first  law  of  evidence,  he  should  be  rejected. 

Not  only  has  Smith  contradicted  himself  in  his  own  works, 
but  still  more  extensively  in  the  statements  he  has  made  to 
his  companions  and  neighbors  ;  many  of  these  have  testified 
to  such  contradictions. 

Peter  Ingersol,  one  of  Smith's  most  intimate  friends,  makes 
affidavit,  and  says,  "  that  Smith  told  me  the  whole  affair  was 

11 


242  THE     EXTERNAL     EVIDENCES 

a  hoax,  that  he  had  no  such  book,  and  did  not  believe  that 
there  was  such  a  book  in  existence  ;  but,  said  he,  as  I  have  got 
the  damned  fools  fixed,  I  shall  carry  out  the  fun." 

Willard  Chase  testifies  that  "  Smith  came  to  me,  wanting 
me  to  make  him  a  chest  to  put  his  Gold  Bible  in,  and  prom 
ised  me  a  share  in  the  book  to  do  so.  He  told  me  he  was 
commanded  to  keep  it  two  years,  without  letting  it  come 
to  the  eye  of  any  one  but  himself." 

Isaac  Hale,  Smith's  father-in-law,  also  affirms,  "  I  asked 
Smith  who  was  to  be  the  first  to  see  the  book  of  plates  ?  He 
said  it  was  a  young  child." 

Rev.  N".  C.  Lewis  testifies  that  "Smith  told  me  he  was 
commanded  to  exhibit  the  plates  to  all  the  world  at  a  certain 
time,  then  about  eighteen  months  distant,  and  promised  that 
I  should  see  the  plates.  When  that  time  came,  he  said  he 
had  been  deceived." 

Henry  Harris  testifies  that  "  Smith  told  me  that  he  could 
not  obtain  the  plates  until  he  was  married,  and  that  no  one 
was  to  see  them  but  himself  and  wife." 

Alva  Hale  testifies  that  Joseph  "  promised  me  that  I  should 
see  the  plates,  and  appointed  a  time  ;  but  when  it  came,  ap 
peared  angry,  and  refused  to  keep  his  word." 

Levi  Lewis  testifies  that  "  Smith  told  me  that  God  had 
deceived  him,  and  that  this  was  the  reason  he  did  not  show 
them." 

Sophia  Lewis  testifies  that  she  "  heard  Smith  say  the  book 
of  plates  could  not  be  opened  by  another  person  than  his  first 
born,  which  was  to  be  a  male ;  and  that  she  was  present  at 
its  birth,  and  that  it  was  still-born,  and  much  deformed." 


OF     THE     BOOK     OF     MORMON.  243 

The  question  is,  are  these  deponents  to  be  believed  ?  Either 
they  are  perjurers,  or  Smith  is  an  impostor.  These,  one 
Smith's  father-in-law,  are  parties  well  known  and  respected 
where  they  lived.  They  are  perfectly  disinterested.  Its  suc 
cess  would  cost  them  nothing.  Had  they  been  disposed  to 
assist  in  the  imposture,  they  could  have  made  a  great  deal. 
Although  testifying  to  additional  circumstances,  they  all  con 
firm  each  other's  statements.  Either  they  are  all  perjurers, 
or  they  all  tell  the  truth.  The  above  are  but  a  selection 
from  many.  The  Smiths  never  could,  and  did  not,  oppose  to 
these  affidavits  any  thing  but  a  bare  denial,  but  moved  out  of 
that  part  of  the  country,  where  they  could  obtain  no  converts. 
They  must  be  believed ;  Smith  did  contradict  himself,  and 
should  therefore  be  rejected. 

II.  Statements  must  be  probable. 

In  1823  Smith  disinters  the  box,  looks  into  it,  covers  it  up, 
and  leaves  it  for  four  years.  When  he  first  visited  it,  "  the 
crowning  top  of  the  box  was  visible  from  the  road,  though 
not  sufficiently  so  to  attract  the  attention  of  the  traveler  unless 
previously  directed  to  it."  It  was  thus  in  1823.  After  the 
snows  and  rains  of  four  winters  such  a  box  would  be  quite 
bare,  and  would  have  been  inspected  and  robbed.  To  say 
that  God  should  act  thus  in  preserving  "  his  holy  word"  is 
ridiculous  and  improbable. 

Smith  avers,  that  after  receiving  these  plates,  etc.,  he  was 
"  waylaid  by  two  ruffians,  one  armed  with  a  club  ;  still  keepr 
ing  the  plates,  etc.  concealed,  he  beats  them  off,  runs  from 
them,  and  arrives  at  his  father's  house,  a  two  miles'  run,  before 
them."  (Smith's  Autobiography.)  This  may  appear  a  small 


244         THE  EXTERNAL  EVIDENCES 

feat  till  we  remember  what  lie  had  to  carry.  "  The  plates  of 
gold  measure  7x8  inches,  and  six  inches  thick,  and  are  fast 
ened  through  the  back  edge  with  three  rings."  A  box  of  tin, 
10x14,  and  3  inches  deep,  weighs  about  125  Ibs.  gross.  The 
box  may  weigh  10  Ibs.,  leaving  the  nett  weight  of  tin  115 
Ibs.  Now  10  x  14  x  3  : 115  ::  7  x  8  x  6  :  92  Ibs.  Had  these 
gold  plates  been  tin,  they  would  have  weighed  about  90  Ibs. 
But  the  relative  weight  of  tin  and  gold  is  as  19-25  to  7-58. 
So  that  7-58  : 19-25  : :  92  :  220-44.  Hence,  this  mass  of  gold 
plates,  as  they  were  not  so  compactly  pressed  as  boxed  tin, 
would  have  weighed  nearly  200  Ibs.  Besides  these  plates,  he 
had,  according  to  his  third  story,  a  breast-plate  of  brass, 
Laban's  sword,  the  crystal  interpreters,  the  "  brass  ball  with 
spindles"  director  of  Lehi.  Yet  he  packs  this  horse  load, 
keeps  these  large  and  awkward  shaped  things  completely  con 
cealed,  and,  at  the  same  time,  beats  off  and  outruns  two 
empty-handed  men  a  distance  of  two  miles.  Statements  must 
be  probable,  and,  therefore,  these  ought  to  be  rejected. 

HI.  Statements  must  agree  with  collateral  facts. 

What  is  Smith's  previous  character  ?  While  the  prophets 
and  apostles  were  poor,  many  of  them  ignorant,  and  some  of 
them  very  young,  still  their  characters  were  irreproachable. 
Smith's  youth,  ignorance,  and  low  position  would  be  no  valid 
argument  against  him ;  but  what  was  his  reputation  ?  Only 
those  who  know  him  best  can  testify.  Such  disinterested 
testimony  we  subjoin : 

Affidavit  made  by  eleven  residents  of  J.  Smith's  village. 

"  We,  the  undersigned,  being  personally  acquainted  with 
the  family  of  Joseph  Smith,  sen.,  with  whom  the  Gold  Bible, 


OF     THE     BOOK     OF     MORMON.  245 

u 

so  called,  originated,  state,  tliat  they  are  not  only  a  lazy  in 
dolent  set  of  men,  but  also  intemperate,  and  their  word  not  to 
be  depended  on,  and  that  we  are  heartily  glad  to  dispense  with 
their  society." 

Signed  by  eleven  male  residents  of  Manchester,  Ontario, 
N.  Y.,  November  3,  1833. 

On  December  4,  1833,  fifty-one  other  men  of  standing  and 
reputation  made  affidavit  to  a  similar  effect.  "  We,  the  un 
dersigned,  have  been  acquainted  with  the  Smith  family  for  a 
number  of  years  while  they  resided  near  this  place,  and  have 
no  hesitation  in  saying,  that  we  consider  them  destitute  of  that 
moral  character  which  ought  to  entitle  them  to  the  confidence 
of  any  community.  They  were  particularly  famous  for 
1  visionary  projects,'  spent  much  of  their  time  in  digging  for 
money  which  they  pretended  was  hid  in  the  earth.  Joseph 
Smith,  sen,,  and  his  son  Joseph  in  particular,  were  considered 
entirely  destitute  of  moral  character  and  addicted  to  vicious 
habits." 

This  was  signed  by  fifty-one  men  of  well-known  reputation. 

Williard  Chase  made  affidavit  before  Judge  Smith,  that  "  I 
have  regarded  Joseph  Smith,  jun.,  from  the  time  I  became  ac 
quainted  with  him,  as  a  man  whose  word  could  not  be  depended 
on.  After  the  family  became  Mormons,  their  conduct  was  more 
disgraceful  than  before.  Although  they  left  this  part  of  the 
country  without  paying  their  just  debts,  yet  their  creditors 
were  glad  to  have  them  do  so  rather  than  to  have  them  stay." 

Parley  Chase  affirms,  "  I  was  acquainted  with  the  family  of 
Joseph  Smith,  sen.,  both  before  and  since  they  became  Mor 
mons,  and  state  that  not  one  of  the  male  members  of  the 


246         THE  EXTERNAL  EVIDENCES 

Smith  family  are  entitled  to  any  credit  whatever.  They  were 
lazy,  intemperate,  and  worthless  men ;  very  much  addicted  to- 
lying.  In  this  they  frequently  boasted  their  skill.  Digging 
for  money  was  their  principal  employment.  In  regard  to 
their  Gold  Bible  speculation,  they  scarcely  ever  told  two 
stories  alike." 

Joseph  Capron  testified  that  "  the  whole  object  of  the  Smith 
family  appeared  to  be  to  live  without  work.  While  digging 
for  money,  they  were  constantly  harassed  by  creditors  who 
are  still  unpaid." 

Henry  Harris  testifies  that  "  the  character  of  Joseph  Smith, 
jun.,  for  truth  and  veracity  was  such  that  I  would  not  believe 
him  under  oath.  I  was  once  on  jury  before  a  justices'  court, 
and  the  jury  could  not  and  did  not  believe  his  testimony  to 
be  true." 

Levi  Lewis  testifies  "  he  knows  Smith  to  be  a  liar  ;  that  he 
saw  him  intoxicated  at  three  different  times  while  pretending 
to  translate  the  Book  of  Mormon  ;  that  he  has  heard  him  say 
adultery  was  no  crime." 

Barton  Stafford,  on  oath  before  Judge  Baldwin,  testified, 
"  Joseph  Smith,  sen.,  was  a  noted  drunkard,  that  most  of  his 
family  followed  his  example,  especially  Joseph  Smith,  jun.,  the 
Prophet,  who  was  much  addicted  to  intemperance.  That  he 
got  drunk  in  my  fathers  field,  and  that  when  drunk  would 
talk  about  his  religion." 

Here  are  positive  statements  made  by  men  who  knew 
Smith  well ;  who  had  known  him  long  ;  who  had  no  motive 
to  exaggerate.  They  are  not  bare  assertions  uttered  without 
thought,  and  repeated  without  exactness,  but  deliberate,  writ- 


OF    THE     BOOK     OF    MORMON.  247 

ten  affidavits.  No  attempt  lias  been  made  to  meet  them, 
only  to  cry  persecution  and  run  away.  To  cry  persecution  is 
not  to  answer  grave  accusations.  To  run  away  is  to  tacitly 
admit,  if  not  the  direct  charge,  certainly  their  inability  to  re 
fute  it. 

We  are  bound  in  all  honesty  to  believe  these  solemn  asser 
tions  of  over  seventy  well-known  and  well-reputed  men.  To 
believe  them  is  to  reject  Smith.  To  commence  God's  work 
of  salvation  on  the  earth,  required  his  Son,  Jesus  Christ,  and 
the  new  testament  of  his  blood.  God  would  not  select  such 
a  work  as  the  Book  of  Mormon  to  continue  the  object  that 
needed  his  Son  to  commence.  He  would  neither  select  such 
a  work,  nor  choose  such  a  man  to  introduce  it,  nor  in  such  a 
manner. 

IV.  There  must  be  corroboration  without  collusion  among 
disinterested  witnesses. 

To  judge  the  Book  of  Mormon  by  the  precedent  laid  down 
in  the  Bible,  it  is  extraordinary  for  a  Prophet  to  need  wit 
nesses  at  all.  But  Smith's  only  crutch  are  his  twelve 
witnesses.  He  has  introduced  them  and  they  must  be  cross- 
examined.  A  jury  who  knew  him  best,  believed  him  the 
least.  If  not  to  be  believed  by  a  jury  on  another's  case  he 
ought  not  to  be  believed  by  the  world  on  his  own.  We  have 
seen  that  he  has  so  contradicted  himself  that  we  can  not 
believe  him  for  his  own  sake  ;  now,  can  we  believe  him  on 
the  evidence  of  his  friends  ?  The  Book  of  Mormon  says, 
"  There  shall  be  three  witnesses."  These  records  were  to  be 
shown  to  no  more  than  three.  When  Moses  brought  down 
from  the  mountain  the  tables  of  stone,  on  which  God  had 


248  THE     EXTERNAL     EVIDENCES 

written  the  law,  and  brake  them  in  pieces  before  the  people, 
the  pieces  lay  there  in  the  sight  of  all,  a  God-marked  ruin, 
symbol  of  Israel's  folly.  These  plates  obtained  in  secrecy  by 
a  drunkard,  a  liar,  and  a  cheat  are  to  be  secretly  shown  to 
three  persons  on  whose  testimony  it  is  pretended,  God  will 
condemn  the  world.  The  Book  of  Mormon  says  he  shall 
show  them  to  three  witnesses,  Smith  showed  them  to  eleven  ! 
Not  only  the  Book  of  Mormon,  but  Smith  pretends  to  get  a 
revelation  in  March,  1829  (Doc.  and  Cov.  p.  172),  and  makes 
God  to  say,  "  I  will  give  unto  these  three  witnesses  power 
that  they  may  behold  and  view  these  things  as  they  are,  and 
to  none  else  will  I  give  this  power  to  receive  this  same  testi 
mony  among  this  generation."  This  is  in  March,  1829,  yet 
in  1830  he  pretends  that  eight  others  saw  and  handled  the 
plates  and  bore  not  only  the  same  but  a  still  more  explicit  tes 
timony.  Out  of  his  own  mouth  does  Smith  condemn  himself 
and  his  witnesses. 

On  page  189,  Doctrines  and  Covenants,  Smith  pretends 
that  God  has  said,  these  three  witnesses  should  see  the 
plates,  and  breast-plate,  and  sword  of  Laban,  Urim,  and  also 
the  miraculous  directors  of  Lehi.  "  You  shall  testify  of  them, 
that  you  have  seen  them  with  your  eyes."  Now,  in  their  tes 
timony,  prefixed  to  the  Book  of  Mormon,  they  assert  nothing 
of  the  kind.  They  say  that  they  did  see  the  plates,  but  not 
one  of  the  other  Ihings  that  God  said  they  should  testify 
about.  If-  they  had  seen  them  they  would  have  testified  of 
them ;  if  they  had  seen  the  plates  they  would  have  seen  these 
other  things  also,  according  to  their  pretended  God's  word ; 
they  did  not  testify  of  them,  therefore,  they  did  not  see  them. 


OF     THE     BOOK     OF     MORMON.  249 

They  did  not  see  these  curiosities ;  either  then,  they  did  not 
see  the  plates  or  Smith's  god  is  a  false  and  deceiving  god.  If 
they  did  not  see  the  plates  their  testimony  fails.  If  they  did 
see  the  plates,  and  not  these  other  things  also,  their  god  fails, 
and  Mormonism  falls  in  either  case.  It  may  be  urged  this 
promise  was  contingent  on  their  faith  /  and  that  may  have 
failed  them.  Paragraph  3  of  the  same  revelation  says,  "  Where 
fore  you  have  received  the  same  power  and  the  same  faith,  and 
the  same  gift  like  unto  him"  (Joseph  Smith).  They  had  the 
faith  but  yet  did  not  see  these  things.  Paragraph  2  of  the 
same  revelation  says,  "  You  shall  testify  you  have  seen  them 
even  as  my  servant  Joseph  has  seen  them"  If  Smith  had  seen, 
they  should  see  ;  if  they  saw,  they  should  testify.  They  did 
not  testify,  therefore,  they  did  not  see  them.  They  did  not 
see  these  things,  consequently  Joseph  Smith  never  saw  them 
either,  for  they  were  "  to  see  them  even  as  Joseph  saw  them." 
This  conclusion  is  inevitable.  Smith's  witnesses,  therefore, 
only  prove  him  an  impostor ! 

THE  TESTIMONY  OF  THREE  WITNESSES. 

"  Be  it  known  unto  all  nations,  kindreds,  tongues,  and  peo 
ple  unto  whom  this  work  shall  come,  that  we,  through  the 
grace  of  God,  the  Father,  and  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  have 
seen  the  plates  which  contain  this  record,  which  is  a  record 
of  the  people  of  Nephi,  and  also  of  the  Lamanites,  their 
brethren,  and  also  of  the  people  of  Jared,  who  came  from  the 
tower  of  which  hath  been  spoken  ;  and  we  also  know  that 
they  have  been  translated  by  the  gift  and  power  of  God,  for 
his  voice  hath  declared  it  unto  us  ;  wherefore  we  know  of  a 
surety  that  the  work  is  true.  And  we  also  testify  that  we 
have  seen  the  engravings  which  are  upon  the  plates;  and 

11* 


250  THE     EXTERNAL     EVIDENCES 

they  haye  been  shown  unto  us  by  the  power  of  God,  and  not 
of  man.  And  we  declare  with  words  of  soberness,  that  an 
angel  of  God  came  down  from  heaven,  and  he  brought  and 
laid  before  our  eyes,  that  we  beheld  and  saw  the  plates,  and 
the  engravings  thereon  ;  and  we  know  that  it  is  by  the  grace 
of  God  the  Father,  and  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  that  we  beheld 
and  bear  record  that  these  things  are  true  ;  and  it  is  marvel 
ous  in  our  eyes,  nevertheless  the  voice  of  the  Lord  com 
manded  us  that  we  should  bear  record  of  it ;  wherefore,  to  be 
obedient  unto  the  commandments  of  God,  we  bear  testimony 
of  these  things.  And  we  know  that  if  we  are  faithful  in 
Christ,  we  shall  rid  our  garments  of  the  blood  of  all  men,  and 
be  found  spotless  before  the  judgment-seat  of  Christ,  and  shall 
dwell  with  him  eternally  in  the  heavens.  And  the  honor  be 
to  the  Father,  and  to  the  Son,  and  to  the  Holy  Ghost,  which 
is  one  God.  Amen. 

"  OLIVER  COWDERY, 
"  DAVID  WHITMER, 
"  MARTIN  HARRIS." 

Several  sound  objections  can  be  urged  against  this  testi 
mony.  1.  There  is  no  date  nor  place.  2.  This  is  not  three 
separate  affidavits,  "  corroborating  without  collusion,"  but  one 
testimony,  signed  by  three  men.  3.  Who  wrote  this  state 
ment — which  of  the  three — was  it  the  three  conjointly — or 
neither  of  them  ?  Compare  these  words  with  Smith's  pre 
tended  revelation,  Doctrines  and  Covenants,  p.  173,  and  any 
one  will  see  the  author  of  the  Revelation  is  the  author  of  the 
testimony.  This  testimony  is,  therefore,  drawn  up  by  Smith 
himself.  There  is  necessarily  corroboration,  but  there  cer 
tainly  must  have  been  collusion  ! 

But  who  are  these  witnesses  ?     As  the  salvation  of  the 


OF     THE     BOOK     OF     MORMON.  251 

world  is  made  to  depend  on  their  testimony,  it  is  important 
we  know  how  much  their  evidence  is  worth.  O.  Cowdeiy 
was  a  school-master,  became  clerk  for  Smith  to  write  his 
translation,  in  1829,  after  Harris  had  become  dissatisfied. 
He,  too,  soon  grew  to  desire  a  stronger  evidence  of  Smith's 
pretensions;  so,  in  April,  1829,  Smith  gets  a  revelation  to 
appease  him,  sayiog,  "  Did  I  not  speak  peace  to  your  mind 
concerning  the  matter  1  What  greater  witness  can  you  have 
from  a  god  ?  (In  passing,  it  is  a  singular  coincidence  that 
Mohammed  used  this  same  argument.)  And,  behold,  I  grant 
unto  you  a  gift,  if  you  desire  it  of  me  to  translate,  even  as 
my  servant  Joseph ;"  but  not  these  plates ;  oh !  no,  but 
(par.  1 2),  "  there  are  other  records  kept  back ;  you  shall 
assist  in  bringing  to  light  those  parts  of  the  Scriptures."  He 
begins  to  write  again,  but  is  again  disturbed  in  mind,  and 
another  revelation  is  obtained  for  him.  He  tried  to  exercise 
"  his  gift,"  but  failed,  and  Smith  puts  these  words  into  the 
mouth  of  God : 

"  Be  patient,  my  son,  for  it  is  wisdom  in  me,  and  it  is  not 
expedient  that  you  should  translate  at  this  present  time.  Be 
hold,  the  work  which  you  are  called  to  do,  is  to  write  for  my 
servant  Joseph ;  and,  behold,  it  is  because  that  you  did  not 
continue  as  you  commenced,  when  you  began  to  translate, 
that  I  have  taken  away  this  privilege  from  you.  Do  not 
murmur,  my  son,  for  it  is  wisdom  in  me  that  I  have  dealt 
with  you  after  this  manner.  Behold,  you  have  not  under 
stood  ;  you  have  supposed  that  I  would  give  it  unto  you, 
when  you  took  no  thought,  save  it  was  to  ask  me  ;  but,  be 
hold,  I  say  unto  you,  that  you  must  study  it  out  in  your 
mind  ;  then  you  must  ask  me  if  it  be  righfy  and  if  it  is  right, 


252  THE      EXTERNAL     EVIDENCES 

I  will  cause  that  your  bosom  shall  burn  within  you ;  there 
fore,  you  shall  feel  that  it  is  right ;  but  if  it  be  not  right,  you 
shall  have  no  such  feelings,  but  you  shall  have  a  stupor  of 
thought,  that  shall  cause  you  to  forget  the  thing  which  is 
wrong :  therefore,  you  can  not  write  that  which  is  sacred, 
save  it  be  given  you  from  me.  Now,  if  you  had  known  this, 
you  could  have  translated  ;  nevertheless,  it  is  not  expedient 
that  you  should  translate  now.  Behold,  it  was  expedient 
when  you  commenced,  but  you  feared,  and  the  time  is  past." 
Can  any  man  read  this  wire-working,  and  charge  it  on  the 
Being  who  says,  "  As  far  as  the  east  is  from  the  west,  so  are 
my  ways  from  men's  ways  ?"  Oliver  is  foiled,  and  submits. 
A  short  time  after  the  organization  of  the  Church,  Hiram 
Smith  charges  Oliver  Cowdery,  in  print,  with  going  to  his 
house,  while  he,  H.  Smith,  was  in  prison,  "  and  ransacking 
and  carrying  off  all  the  valuables ;  compelling  my  aged 
father,  by  threatening  to  bring  a  mob  over  him,  to  deed  over 
to  him  about  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  land,  to  pay  a 
note,  he  said  I  had  given,  for  $160,  which  note  was  a  for 
gery  !"  Sidney  Rigdon,  J.  Smith's  counselor,  at  Independ 
ence,  Mo.,  in  1838,  charged  Cowdery  and  David  Whitmer, 
both  witnesses,  with  being  "  connected  with  a  gang  of  coun 
terfeiters,  thieves,  liars,  blacklegs  of  the  deepest  dye,  to  de 
ceive  and  defraud  the  Saints."  Joseph  Smith  (Times  and 
Seasons,  vol.  i.,  pp.  81,  83,  84)  charges  Cowdery  and  Whit 
mer  wjth  being  "  busy  in  stirring  up  strife  and  turmoil  among 
the  brethren  in  1838  in  Missouri;"  and  that  "they  were 
studiously  engaged  in  circulating  false  and  slanderous  reports 
against  the  Saints,"  and  he  demands,  "  Are  they  not  mur 
derers  at  heart  ?  Are  not  their  consciences  seared  with  a  hot 


OF     THE     BOOK     OF     MORMON.  253 

iron  ?"  These  vile  men  were  consequently  cut  off  from  the 
Church,  being  too  deeply  implicated  to  deny  their  testimony, 
and  too  thoroughly  defamed  beforehand  for  such  denial  to 
have  weight. 

Martin  Harris  was  a  rich  farmer.  Before  he  became  ac 
quainted  with  Smith,  he  had  been  Quaker,  Universalist,  Res- 
torationist,  Baptist,  Presbyterian.  He  was  a  violent,  quarrel 
some  man,  "  known  to  frequently  whip  and  kick  his  wife,  and 
put  her  out  of  doors."  (Richard  Ford  and  G.  W.  Stoddard's 
affidavits.)  Lucy  Harris,  his  wife,  affirms  that "  her  shoulders 
and  back  were  often  black  and  blue  in  many  places ;"  "  once 
he  beat  me  so  severely  that  marks  remained  more  than  two 
weeks;"  "once  he  struck  me  over  the  head  several  times 
with  the  butt-end  of  a  whip  three  or  four  feet  long."  His 
first  acquaintance  with  Smith  was  by  Smith's  "  going  to  him 
and  saying,  '  I  have  a  commandment  from  God  to  ask  the 
first  man  I  meet  to  give  me  $50  to  help  me  to  do  the  Lord's 
work  in  translating  the  Golden  Bible."1  Martin  believed, 
contributed,  grew  intimate,  and  became  scribe.  Not  satisfied, 
however,  he  wished  to  see  the  plates  ;  but  Smith  put  him  off, 
giving  him  a  slip  of  paper,  with  some  of  the  characters  in 
scribed,  and  sent  him  to  Professor  Anthon  of  New  York,  who 
warned  him  of  being  hoaxed.  Harris  returned  dissatisfied, 
and  still  wanted  to  see  the  plates ;  and  Smith,  to  give  him  a 
quietus,  obtained  a  revelation,  March,  1829  (Doc.  and  Cov.,  p. 
171),  and  says,  par.  2,  "  Behold,  if  they  will  not  believe  my 
words,  they  would  not  believe  you,  even  if  it  were  possible  for 
you  to  show  them  all  these  things  I  have  committed  unto 
you.  Oh  !  this  unbelieving  generation,  mine  anger  is  kindled 


254  THE     EXTERNAL     EVIDENCES 

against  them ;"  and  in  par.  5,  Harris  is  commanded  to  say  no 
more  about  it,  "  except  lie  shall  say  I  have  seen  them,  and 
they  have  been  shown  me  by  the  power  of  God,  and  not  of 
man."  Observe,  this  is  March,  1829.  The  revelation  given 
immediately  previous  to  their  seeing  the  plates  was  in  June, 
1829  ;  so  that  here  is  Smith's  pretended  God,  wanting  Harris 
to  testify  that  he  had  already  seen  the  plates,  three  months 
before  he  pretended  to  have  seen  them  at  all.  God  wanting 
Harris  to  lie ! 

Harris,  however,  is  not  satisfied  even  with  all  this  spiritual 
machinery  at  work  around  him.  He  determines  to  steal  118 
pages  of  translation  he  had  made,  hoping  that  Smith  would 
reproduce  it,  and  by  comparing  the  two  to  examine  how  far 
verbatim  were  his  revelations.  Smith  is  too  cunning.  He 
obtains  a  revelation  commanding  him  not  to  retranslate,  but 
promising  that  a  better  and  fuller  account  of  the  same 
matters  should  be  found  in  the  next  book;  and  he  then 
plays  off  Cowdery  against  Harris  as  scribe.  The  book  is 
finished,  the  "  testimony"  is  gotten  up,  his  signature  extorted 
the  last  when  it  ought  to  have  been  the  first,  and  it  goes  to 
the  world.  But  we  may,  perhaps,  be  astonished  to  find,  that 
though  Harris's  testimony  has  convinced  many  thousands  who 
have  embraced  Mormonism,  it  did  not  convince  Harris  him 
self,  nor  deter  him  from  desiring  to  commit  murder  and  adul 
tery.  •  In  March,  1830,  Smith  has  to  severely  rebuke  him,  and 
got  a  revelation  commanding  him  to  "  repent,  and  keep  the 
commandments  which  you  have  received  by  the  hand  of  my 
servant  Joseph,  in  my  name ;  and  it  is  by  my  almighty  power 
that  you  received  them."  "Repent,  lest  I  smite  you  and 


OF     THE     BOOK     OF     MORMON.  255 

your  sufferings  be  sore — how  sore,  you  know  not ;  how  ex 
quisite,  you  know  not;  yea,  how  hard  to  bear,  you  know 
not.  For  behold,  I,  God,  have  suffered  these  things — which 
suffering  caused  even  God,  the  greatest  of  all,  to  tremble,  be 
cause  of  pain  and  blood  at  every  pore.  I  command  thee  not 
to  covet  thy  neighbor's  wife,  nor  seek  thy  neighbor's  life.  And 
again  I  command  thee  to  impart  freely  of  thy  property  to  the 
printing  of  the  Book  of  Mormon.  Pay  the  debt  thou  hast 
contracted  with  the  printer !"  (Doc.  and  Cov.,  p.  194.) 

In  1837  Smith  prints  this  language  about  his  coadjutor 
and  witness :  "  There  are  negroes  who  have  white  skins  as 
well  as  black  ones.  Granny  Parish  and  others,  who  acted  as 
lackeys,  such  as  Martin  Harris  !  But  they  are  so  far  beneath 
my  contempt,  that  to  notice  any  of  them  would  be  too  great  a 
sacrifice  for  a  gentleman  to  maker  (Elder's  Journal,  1837.) 
This  is  rather  hard,  remembering  that  he  had  completely 
ruined  Harris.  "We  must,  however,  believe  the  prophet,  and 
urge  that  to  notice  the  testimony  of  Martin  Harris  is  "  too 
great  a  sacrifice  for  a  gentleman  to  make!"  And  yet  it  is  on 
the  testimony  of  such  a  man,  the  Mormons  believe  and  con 
tend,  that  God  will  condemn  mankind. 

Notwithstanding  the  declaration  of  the  Book  of  Mormon, 
or  of  Smith's  pretended  revelation  of  March,  1829,  that  God 
would  give  the  testimony  to  "  these  three,  and  to  none  else," 
yet  Smith  felt  that  their  testimony  wanted  bolstering  up,  and 
he  has,  therefore,  added  the  testimony  of  eight  others.  Al 
though  by  the  revelation  above,  it  is  evident  that  the  testimony 
could  not  have  been  given  by  God,  and  is,  therefore,  worth 
less  ;  still  it  ought  to  be  examined. 


256         THE  EXTERNAL  EVIDENCES 

"  Testimony  of  the  Eight  Witnesses. 

"Be  it  known  unto  all  nations,  kindreds,  tongues,  and 
people  unto  whom  this  work  shall  come,  that  Joseph  Smith, 
jun.,  the  translator  of  this  work,  has  shown  unto  us  the  plates 
of  which  hath  been  spoken,  which  have  the  appearance  of 
gold  ;  and  as  many  of  the  leaves  as  the  said  Smith  has  trans 
lated,  we  did  handle  with  our  hands ;  and  we  also  saw  the 
engravings  thereon,  all  of  which  has  the  appearance  of  ancient 
work,  and  of  curious  workmanship.  And  this  we  bear  record 
with  words  of  soberness,  that  the  said  Smith  has  shown  unto 
us,  for  we  have  seen  and  hefted,  and  know  of  a  surety  that  the 
said  Smith  has  got  the  plates  of  which  we  have  spoken.  And 
we  give  our  names  unto  the  world,  to  witness  unto  the  world 
that  which  we  have  seen  ;  and  we  lie  not,  God  bearing  wit 
ness  of  it." 

CHRISTIAN  WHITMER.  HIRAM  PAGE. 

JACOB  WHITMER.  JOSEPH  SMITH,  Sen. 

PETER  WHITMER,  Jun.  HIRAM  SMITH. 

JOHN  WHITMER.  SAMUEL  H.  SMITH. 

Observe,  there  are  three  Smiths,  four  Whitmers,  and  Page, 
a  relation  of  Cowdery's,  who  make  the  above  statement. 
There  is  no  need  to  investigate  their  characters.  To  acknowl 
edge  their  testimony  true,  will  add  no  weight  to  the  Mormon 
cause.  But  their  testimony  destroys  itself. 

First.  There  is  neither  date  nor  place.  Second.  It  is  not 
an  affidavit.  Third.  It  is  evident  that  Joseph  wrote  it  him 
self.  Fourth.  It  contradicts  the  testimony  of  the  three.  It 
needed  an  "  angel  from  heaven"  to  show  the  plates  to  the 
three  witnesses  who  were,  it  is  said,  chosen  by  God ;  Smith 
himself  showed  these  things  to  these  eight  whom  he  himself 
chose.  Fifth.  The  three,  although  chosen  by  God,  saw  only 


OF     THE    BOOK     OF     MORMON.  257 

with  the  "  eye  of  faith,"  saw,  but  touched  not ;  these,  forbidden 
by  God,  "  handled  and  hefted  them."  They  were  so  sacred 
that  Smith  divided  his  translating  room  with  a  blanket,  he 
sitting  on  one  side,  his  scribe  on  the  other,  to  prevent  Harris 
from  seeing  them ;  so  professedly  sacred,  that  it  needed  many 
revelations,  the  delay  of  three  years,  many  warnings,  menaces, 
and  maledictions,  the  maintenance  of  profound  secrecy,  and 
the  adoption  of  subterfuges  and  fanatical  paraphernalia,  before 
these  three  could  get  a  glimpse  of  them  ;  and  now,  it  is  pre 
tended,  they  were  freely  handled  and  loosely  hefted  by  these 
eight  men,  who  had  been  forbidden  by  G9d.  These  state 
ments  differ  ;  one  is  certainly  false,  and  whichever  it  is,  Smith 
is  an  impostor.  Sixth.  Smith  says,  that  "  when  the  plates 
were  translated,  they  were  given  back  to  the  angel."  How 
then  could  he  show  them  to  these  eight  men  ?  Seventh. 
Smith  pretends  to  have  found  one  book  "  bound  by  three 
rings  passing  through  the  back  edge,  and  a  part  of  them  was 
sealed."  These  men  "  handle  the  leaves,"  not  of  the  whole, 
sealed  as  well  as  translated,  but  of  the  part  that  "  Smith  had 
translated."  Either  he  must  have  broken  those  sacred  rings, 
or  they  must  have  handled  the  whole.  It  is  to  confirm  this 
ringed  book  their  testimony  is  advanced.  But  they  did  not 
see  this  ring-bound  book,  and  therefore  their  testimony  is 
worthless.  Eighth.  If  Smith  did  show  them  some  plates, 
which  we  are  willing  to  believe  he  did,  they  could  not  tell 
whether  they  were  "the  leaves  Joseph  Smith  had  translated;" 
they  could  not  tell  that  "  they  were  the  plates  of  which  have 
been  spoken ;"  they  could  not  tell  whether  they  were  "  as 
many"  as  translated.  All  they  had  was  Smith's  bare  word. 


258  THE     EXTERNAL     EVIDENCES 

All  we  have  is  Smith's  bare  word  too.  But  we  have  already 
shown  that  that  word,  even  on  oath,  would  not  be  believed  by 
a  jury  of  his  acquaintances.  Unbelievable  in  trivial  matters, 
how  shall  we  credit  him  when  universal  salvation  is  at  stake  ? 
Ninth.  They  were  confessedly  ignorant  men.  Their  state 
ment  of  "  ancient  work  and  curious  workmanship,"  is  the 
opinion  of  men  who  necessarily  know  nothing  about  it.  For 
an  astronomer  to  obtain  the  testimony  of  an  infant  school  as 
to  the  correctness  of  the  "  nebular  theory,"  or  the  undulation 
of  light,  and  who  should  require  the  world  to  believe  it  on 
their  testimony,  jvould  be  just  as  wise  as  to  require  the  world 
to  believe  the  Book  of  Mormon  on  the  testimony  of  these 
men.  Who  shall  charge  God  with  making  the  salvation  of 
the  world  depend  on  the  contradictory  opinions  of  these  men, 
as  to  something  of  which  they  are  entirely  and  confessedly 
ignorant  ? 

V.  The  testimony  of  the  witnesses  must  preponderate  over 
conflicting  evidence. 

The  testimony  produced  against  Smith  has  never  been 
met.  Recrimination  or  silence  has  been  their  manner  of  treat 
ing  it.  The  cry  of  "  persecution"  has  been  raised,  and  they 
"  ran  away."  Such  evidence  demands  attention  and  refuta 
tion,  or  it  demands  belief.  Orson  Pratt,  the  ablest  Mormon 
writer,  says,  "  We  must  prove  these  men  did  not  see  what 
they  pretend,  before  we  can  disprove  the  Book  of  Mormon." 
(Authenticity  of  Book  of  Mormon.)  This  is  an  error.  The 
onus  probandi  rests  with  the  affirmative.  It  is  impossible 
to  prove  a  negative.  Truth  is  that  which  is.  Falsehood  is 
that  which  is  not.  We  can  prove  truth,  or  that  which  is, 


OF     THE     BOOK     OF     MORMON.  259 

but  we  can  not  prove  that  which  is  not.  The  affirmative  pro 
duce  their  case,  and  the  negative  examine  it.  It  is  for  them 
to  prove  that  Smith's  previous  character  was  good  ;  that  his 
word  is  to  be  believed  ;  that  his  statements  were  consistent ; 
that  they  were  probable  ;  that  they  did  agree  with  collateral 
facts ;  that  there  was  no  collusion ;  at  the  same  time  that 
there  was  full  harmony  among  disinterested  witnesses  of  un 
impeachable  character.  Till  they  do  this,  the  world  is  not 
responsible  for  unbelief.  Till  they  do  this,  to  believe  Smith, 
is  a  sign  of  a  hastily  and  easily  satisfied  mind.  They  have 
not  done  this,  therefore  men  should  not  believe. 

Still  they  are  not  without  an  argument.  They  rely  greatly 
on  their  prophetic  proof.  They  try  to  show  that  God  was  to 
reveal  himself  to  Ephraim  ;  quote  the  promises  made  to  that 
tribe  ;  refer  to  Ezekiel,  xxxvii.  15,  28,  inferring  thence  that 
the  stick  of  Judah  is  a  book,  the  Bible ;  that  the  stick  of 
Ephraim  is  also  a  book,  the  Book  of  Mormon.  To  establish 
the  identity  of  the  Book  of  Mormon  with  this  book  or  stick, 
is  now  the  grand  difficulty.  They  use  Isaiah,  xxix.,  and 
attempt  to  wrest  it  to  mean  the  coming  forth  of  the  Book 
of  Mormon  from  the  ground;  the  inability  of  Professor 
Anthon  to  decipher  the  characters,  etc.,  etc.  This  is  their 
tower  of  strength, 

"  Which  if  to  totter,  is  their  all  to  fall." 

"And  the  Lord  rejected  all  the  seed  of  Israel,  and  afflicted 
them,  and  delivered  them  into  the  hands  of  the  spoilers, 
until  he  had  cast  them  out  of  his  sight.  Therefore  the  Lord 
was  very  angry  with  Israel,  and  removed  them  out  of  his 


260         THE  EXTERNAL  EVIDENCES 

sight:  there  was  none  left,  but  the  tribe  of  Judah  only" 
(2  Kings,  xvii.  18,  20).  God  says  he  rejected  them,  and 
cast  them  out  of  his  sight.  Smith  says  he  led  them  to 
America,  and  blessed  them  "above  the  house  of  Judah." 
Which  is  right  ?  It  is  a  question  between  God  and  Joseph 
Smith.  To  believe  the  one,  is  to  reject  the  other. 

Admitting  that  Ephraim  was  to  be  blest,  as  pretended,  it 
does  not  help  the  Book  of  Mormon.  There  was  not  a  single 
Ephraimite  on  the  continent  of  America,  according  to  their 
book  itself.  The  Nephites  were  descendants  of  Manasseh 
(Book  of  Mormon,  p.  235).  The  people  of  Zarahemla  were 
Jews,  and  were  of  the  "  seed  of  Zedekiah"  (Book  of  Mor 
mon,  p.  411).  These  not  being  Ephraimites,  their  record  can 
not  be  the  "stick  or  records  of  Ephraim."  The  Mormon 
prophetic  argument  falls  to  the  ground,  therefore,  because 
Ephraim's  promises  do  not  refer  to  others.  Again,  Ezekiel 
says,  "  Write,  for  Joseph  the  stick  of  Ephrain  and  for  all  the 
house  of  Israel,  his  companions"  Wherever  Ephraim  is,  all 
the  house  of  Israel  are  there  also.  Not  an  isolated  family,  as 
Smith  pretends,  separated  by  thousands  of  miles  of  sea  and 
land,  but  with  Israel,  his  companions.  If  the  papyrus  roll  of 
the  Bible  be  properly  symbolized  by  a  stick,  a  stick  can  not 
mean  a  book  of  gold  plates.  We  find,  then, 

I.  Statements  must  agree  with  themselves. 

Smith  has  over  and  over  again  contradicted  himself,  and 
must,  therefore,  be  rejected. 

II.  Statements  must  agree  with  known  principles. 

Smith  has  transcended  all  probability,  and  must,  therefore, 
be  rejected. 


OF     THE     BOOK    OF     MORMON.  261 

III.  Statements  must  agree  with  collateral  facts. 

Smith's  character,  both  previously  and  at  the  time,  was 
notoriously  bad,  and,  therefore,  must  be  rejected. 

IV.  Disinterested  and  unimpeachable  witnesses  must,  with 
out  collusion  and  preconcert,  confirm  each  other's  statement. 

There  was  preconcert  and  collusion  among  Smith's  wit 
nesses  ;  they  were  all  deeply  interested ;  they  were  men  of 
such  bad  character  that  the  Mormons  themselves  accused 
and  criminated,  and  finally  cut  them  off ;  and  their  testimony 
is  contradictory.  Therefore  Smith  must  be  rejected. 

V.  Their  evidence  must  preponderate  over  all  conflicting 
testimony. 

So  far  from  this,  their  testimony  destroys  itself,  and,  there 
fore,  Smith  must  be  rejected. 

As  Joseph  Smith  is  the  founder  of  Mormonism,  and  as, 
consequently,  the  truth  of  Mormonism  depends  entirely  on 
the  pretensions  of  Smith,  so,  therefore,  all  should  reject 
Mormonism. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

REAL  ORIGIN  OF  THE  BOOK  OF  MORMON. 

Credibility  of  testimony — Money-digging  in  New  York — Chase's  peep- 
stone — Smith's  mode  of  translating — Page's  stone — Smith's  plates — 
"Wiley's  plates — Cupidity  of  Smith's  family  —  Smith's  object — W. 
Harris's  inducement — 0.  Cowdery's  inducement — Origin  of  name — 
Origin  of  matter — Spalding's  relations  testify — Smith's  means  of  ob 
taining  MS.  of  Spalding — Incidents  of  Book  of  Mormon — Religious 
decisions — Religious  style — Grammatical  construction — The  Bible. 

THE  Book  of  Mormon  is  not  what  it  pretends  to  be,  a  reve 
lation  from  God  ;  then,  what  is  it  ?  What  is  its  real  origin  ? 
Is  Smith  the  author,  or  had  he  assistance  ?  If  he  had  accom 
plices,  who  were  they,  and  what  were  the  inducements  held 
out  to  them  ?  What  was  their  object  ?  Were  they  victims 
to  his  deceit  or  accessories  to  his  fraud  ?  These  become  not 
only  interesting  but  important  questions.  To  these  questions 
a  reply  is  attempted  in  this  chapter. 

It  is  very  difficult  to  detect,  in  ordinary  cases,  evidences  of 
fraud.  Unless  by  the  exposure  by  an  accomplice,  it  is  neces 
sary  to  make  a  minute  investigation  of  the  circumstances  of 
tbe  case,  remembering  the  third  law  of  evidence,  "Things 
must  agree  with  collateral  facts." 

The  apologists  for  the  Book  of  Mormon  boldly  demand 
"  What  object  could  Joseph  Smith  and  these  witnesses  have 
had  if  the  transaction  be  a  fraud  ?"  There  are  three  motives 


THE    BOOK     OF    MORMON.  263 

that  induce  deceit — the  desire  for  wealth,  reputation,  and 
power.  The  whole  of  these  actuated  Smith ;  the  first  of  these 
induced  the  witnesses.  This  will  be  clearly  established. 

It  is  important  here,  however,  to  determine  what  testimony 
is  credible  on  this  subject  ?  The  Mormons  ever  brand  as 
"  liar  and  perjurer"  any  who  oppose  and  testify  against  them. 
They  require  us  to  believe  Smith  on  testimony  that  no  jury 
would  receive.  We  require  them  to  disbelieve  Smith,  on  tes 
timony  any  jury  would  credit ;  the  testimony  of  disinterested 
witnesses  well  cognizant  of  the  facts,  corroborating  each 
other's  statements  without  collusion,  which  are  also  confirmed 
by  circumstances  known,  and  which  would  compel  the  assent 
of  any  unprejudiced  examiner. 

It  was  quite  common  in  the  western  part  of  New  York, 
about  thirty  years  ago,  for  men  to  dig  for  treasure  which  they 
supposed  had  been  hidden  by  Captain  Kidd  and  others. 
Many  plans  were  tried  and  much  imposition  practiced  by 
means  of  divining-rods,  dreams,  and  seeing-stones.  It  was  not 
at  all  a  new  thing  for  Smith,  therefore,  to  pretend  to  the 
power  of  seeing  where  gold  was  by  the  use  of  a  "  peep-stone," 
nor  did  it  surprise  the  inhabitants  of  that  locality. 

Willard  Chase,  before  Judge  King,  Wayne  county,  N.  Y., 
swears  that,  in  1822,  as  Joseph  Smith  (then  seventeen  years' 
old)  and  himself  were  digging  a  well,  he  found  a  curious 
white  stone,  about  twenty  feet  from  the  surface.  "  Joseph 
Smith  put  it  into  his  hat,  asserting  that  by  putting  his  face  to 
the  top  of  it,  he  could  see  in  the  stone."  The  next  day  Smith 
borrowed  the  stone,  which  Chase  reluctlantly  lent.  Smith 
soon  began  to  publish  what  wonderful  things  he  could  see  in 


264  REAL      ORIGIN 

it.  Chase  ordered  its  return.  In  1825,  Smith  borrowed  it 
again,  alleging  he  wanted  it  for  an  important  purpose  and 
promised  its  immediate  return.  In  the  fall  of  1826,  Chase 
sent  for  it,  when  Smith  refused  to  restore  it ;  Chase  insisted 
on  its  restoration,  Smith  persisted  in  his  refusal.  In  1827, 
Chase  swears,  "  Smith  told  me  of  having  found  his  Golden 
Bible,  and  he  said,  'If  it  had  not  been  for  that  stone  of  yours 
(acknowledging  it  to  be  mine),  I  could  not  have  obtained  the 
book.'  He  then  wished  me  to  make  him  a  chest  to  put  his 
book  into,  but  I  refused."  In  1830,  Chase  again  demanded 
the  stone  of  Hiram  Smith,  Joseph's  brother,  in  the  presence 
of  Martin  Harris.  "  Hiram  replied  that  I  could  not  have  it, 
for  Joseph  used  it  in  translating  the  new  bible"  "  I  represented 
to  him  that  the  stone  was  mine  and  that  I  must  have  it ; 
when  Martin  Harris  flew  into  a  rage,  called  me  a  liar,  and 
took  me  by  the  collar.  Hiram  joined  in  the  scuffle,  shaking 
his  fists  at  me  and  abusing  me  in  the  most  scandalous  man 
ner."  Chase  could  never  afterward  obtain  that  stone. 

The  testimony  of  Willard  Chase  is  confirmed  by  Isaac 
Hale,  Smith's  father-in-law,  who  affirms  "  I  first  became  ac 
quainted  with  Joseph  Smith  in  November,  1825.  He  was 
then  in  the  employ  of  a  set  of  men  who  were  called  '  money- 
diggers,'  and  his  occupation  was  that  of  seeing,  or  pretending 
to  see,  by  means  of  a  stone  placed  in  his  hat  and  his  hat 
placed  over  his  face.  In  this  way  he  pretended  to  discover 
minerals  and  hidden  treasures.  The  manner  in  which  he 
pretended  to  read  and  interpret  his  plates  was  the  same  as 
when  he  looked  for  '  money-diggers,'  with  the  stone  in  his 
hat,  and  his  hat  over  his  face,  while  the  book  of  plates  was  at 


JOS,  8MTTH.  J> 


OF     THE     BOOK     OF     MORMON.  265 

the  same  time  hidden  away."  Peculiar  importance  attaches 
itself  to  the  testimony  of  Isaac  Hale,  from  the  fact  of  some  of 
the  "  translation"  beiDg  done  at  his  house,  till  he  became 
disgusted  with  their  knavery  and  turned  them  all  out  of 
doors;  and  that  Smith  was  still  cheating  ill  1825;  two 
years  after  pretending  to  have  had  his  vision. 

In  this  stone  of  W.  Chase,  was  the  real  origin  of  Smith's 
Urim  and  Thummim.  The  ancient  Urim  and  Thummim 
was  in  Aaron's  breast- plate,  "on  his  heart."  Ex.,  xxviii.  30. 
Smith,  however,  fixed  his  into  golden  rims,  and  put  them  on 
his  eyes.  "  Each  was  so  large,"  says  Martin  Harris,  "  that 
a  man  could  look,  with  both  eyes,  through  one  stone." 

Nor  was  Smith's  the  only  stone  among  his  believers.  In 
September,  1830,  Smith  had  to  get  a  revelation,  commanding 
Cowdery  to  "  take  his  brother,  Hiram  Page  (one  of  the  eight 
witnesses  to  the  Book  of  Mormon)  between  him  and  thee 
alone,  and  tell  him  that  those  things  which  he  hath  written 
from  that  stone  are  not  of  me,  and  that  Satan  deceiveth  him." 
(Doc.  and  Cov.,  p.  203.)  While  Page  conceived  he  had  an 
equal  right  to  obtain  revelations  through  his  stone,  Joseph 
could  endure  no  rival  to  his  pretensions.  His  only  means  of 
power  was  by  keeping  himself  the  sole  revealer  of  God's 
will  and  word.  To  share  with  another  the  raft  that  was 
bearing  him  on,  was  to  sink  himself.  It  was  a  contest  be 
tween  Joseph  Smith  and  Page.  Page  was  the  weakest,  and 
he  went  down. 

Here,  then,  is  the  origin  of  the  Urim  and  Thummim  idea ; 
what  suggested  that  of  the  golden  plates  ?  It  is  a  fact  that 
Smith  did  copy  some  characters  on  to  a  slip  of  paper,  which 

12 


266  REAL      ORIGIN 

he  sent  by  Martin  Harris  to  Professor  Anthon.  It  is  also  a 
fact,  that  the  description  of  the  characters  made  by  the  Pro 
fessor,  does  somewhat  resemble  the  description  of  the  glyphs 
of  Otolnm,  made  subsequently  by  Professor  Rafinesque  (At 
lantic  Journal,  1832,  Professor  Rafinesque).  Of  this  similarity 
0.  Pratt  makes  great  capital  as  a  proof  of  the  Book  of  Mor 
mon.  I  admit  the  resemblance.  It  is  also  a  fact  that  eight 
men  testified  that  Smith  had  shown  them  several  plates 
curiously  engraved  ;  that  they  "  did  handle  and  heft  them  ;" 
and  that  they  knew  Smith  had  them.  Although,  as  before 
shown,  these  plates  could  not  have  been  the  pretended  golden 
Bible,  yet  I  think  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  these  men 
told  the  truth  as  to  seeing  and  handling  certain  plates,  and 
that  Smith  had  them.  Unless  Smith  had  got  something,  he 
could  never  have  originated  the  idea  of  the  book  ;  could  not 
have  copied  the  characters  sent  to  Professor  Anthon  by  Mar 
tin  Harris ;  still  more,  those  characters  could  not  have  hap 
pened  to  resemble  engravings  subsequently  found;  and  as 
these  eight  do  not  pretend,  as  do  the  three,  to  have  seen  them 
with  all  the  ridiculous  concomitants  of  the  eye  of  faith  and 
coming  of  angels,  it  is  reasonable  to  believe  that  Smith  really 
possessed  some  plates.  If  their  testimony  be  credible,  it 
proves  that  he  not  only  had  them,  but  that  he  kept  them, 
and  not  delivered  them  "  up  to  the  angel,"  as  he  elsewhere 
pretends.  To  possess  the  plates  is  one  thing,  to  have 
received  them  from  God  is  quite  another.  To  admit 
that  he  had  them  does  not  admit  the  truth  of  the  Book 
of  Mormon. 

"  How  did  he  get  them  ?" 


OF     THE     BOOK     OF     MORMON.  267 

"  On  the  16th  of  April,  1843,  a  respectable  merchant,  by 
the  name  of  Robert  Wiley,  commenced  digging  in  a  large 
mound  near  this  place.  He  excavated  to  the  depth  of  ten 
feet,  and  came  to  rock.  On  the  23d,  he  and  quite  a  number 
of  the  citizens,  with  myself,  repaired  to  the  mound,  and  after 
making  ample  opening,  we  found  plenty  of  rock,  the  most  of 
which  appeared  as  though  it  had  been  strongly  burned  ;  and 
after  removing  full  two  feet  of  said  rock,  we  found  plenty  of 
charcoal  and  ashes ;  also  human  bones,  that  appeared  as 
though  they  had  been  burned ;  and  near  the  eciphalon  a 
bundle  was  found,  that  consisted  of  Six  PLATES  OF  BRASS,  of 
a  bell-shape,  each  having  a  hole  near  the  small  end,  and  a 
ring  through  them  all,  and  clasped  with  two  clasps.  The 
ring  and  clasps  appeared  to  be  iron,  very  much  oxydated  : 
the  plates  first  appeared  to  be  copper,  and  had  the  appear 
ance  of  being  covered  with  characters.  It  was  agreed  by  the 
company  that  I  should  cleanse  the  plates.  Accordingly,  I 
took  them  to  my  house,  washed  them  with  soap  and  water, 
and  a  woolen  cloth ;  but,  finding  them  not  yet  cleansed,  I 
treated  them  with  dilute  sulphuric  acid,  which  made  them 
perfectly  clean,  on  which  it  appeared  that  they  were  com 
pletely  covered  with  characters,  that  none,  as  yet,  have  been 
able  to  read.  They  were  found,  I  judge,  more  than  twelve 
feet  below  the  surface  of  the  top  of  the  mound. 

"  I  am,  most  respectfully,  a  citizen  of  Kinderhook, 

"  W.  P.  HARRIS,  M.  D." 

The  following  certificate  was  forwarded  for  publication  at 
the  same  time : 

"  We,  citizens  of  Kinderhook,  whose  names  are  annexed, 
do  certify  and  declare,  that  on  the  23d  of  April,  1843,  while 
excavating  a  large  mound  in  this  vicinity,  Mr.  R.  Wiley  took 
from  said  mound  six  brass  plates,  of  a  bell-shape,  covered 


268 


REAL     ORIGIN 


with  ancient  characters.  Said  plates  were  very  much  oxy- 
dated.  The  bands  and  rings  on  said  plates  moldered  into 
dust  on  a  slight  pressure." 

EGBERT  WILEY,  J.  R.  SHARP, 

GEORGE  DECKENSON,        IRA  S.  CURTIS, 

W.  LONGNECKER,  FAYETTE  GRUBB, 

G.  W.  F.  WARD,  W.  P.  HARRIS, 

W.  FUGATE. 


The  characters  on  these  plates  also  resemble  Professor  An- 
thon's  description  :  "  The  characters  were  arranged  in  columns 
like  the  Chinese  mode  of  writing,  and  presented  the  most  sin 
gular  medley  I  ever  saw.  Greek,  Hebrew,  and  all  sorts  of 
letters,  more  or  less  distorted,  were  intermingled,  with  sundry 
delineations  of  half  moons,  stars  and  other  natural  objects, 


OF     THE     BOOK     OF     MORMON.  269 

and  the  whole  ended  in  a  rude  representation  of  the  Mexican 
Zodiac."  (Professor  Anthon's  letter.)  Professor  Rafinesque 
describes  the  glyphs  of  Otolum,  Mexico,  as  being  "  written 
from  top  to  bottom  like  the  Chinese."  "The  most  com 
mon  way  of  writing  is  in  rows,  and  each  group  separated." 
(Atlantic  Journal  for  1832.)  This  similarity  between  the 
characters  on  Wiley's  plates  and  Professor  Rafinesque's  de 
scription,  does  not  prove  that  Wiley  got  his  plates  from  an 
angel.  However  much  the  characters  on  Smith's  plates  may 
have  resembled  either  of  the  above,  it  does  not  any  the  more 
prove  that  Smith  got  his  plates  from  an  angel  either.  Wiley 
found  his  plates  while  digging  for  water.  It  would  be  just 
as  natural  for  Smith  to  have  found  his  plates  while  digging 
for  gold !  To  prove  the  resemblance  only  proves  the  posses 
sion,  and  not  the  means  of  obtaining  possession.  We  have 
before  shown  that  any  impartial  person  must  disclaim  all  idea 
of  Smith  getting  his  book  as  he  pretends.  Every  careful 
reader  must  be  compelled  to  admit  that  Smith  did  have  some 
plates  of  some  kind.  Smith's  antecedents  and  subsequents, 
show  that  he  did  not  have  genius  sufficient  to  originate  the 
whole  conception,  without  some  palpable  suggestion.  The 
having  chanced  to  have  found  some  plates  in  a  mound,  as 
Wiley  found  his,  or  as  Chase  discovered  Smith's  "peep- 
stone,"  would  be  just  such  an  event  as  would  suggest  every 
particular  statement  Smith  made  about  his  plates,  at  the 
same  time  account  for  what  is  known  ;  and,  therefore,  it  is 
more  than  reasonable  to  conclude  that  Smith  found  his  plates 
while  digging  gold.  This  entirely  destroys  all  the  shadow 
of  argument  so  laboriously  compiled  by  the  Mormon  apologists, 


270  REAL     ORIGIN 

which,  even  without  this,  although  their  strongest  argument, 
only  proves  that  he  had  some  plates,  but  at  the  same  time  has 
no  force  of  proof  as  to  Smith's  obtaining  them  from  an  angel. 
It  is  certain  that  Smith  began  to  feel  his  friends  on  the 
subject  of  this  Golden  Bible  for  some  time  before  he  pretended 
to  possess  it.  Peter  Ingersol  testifies  on  oath  tbat  "  J.  Smith, 
sen.,  told  me  a  book  had  been  found  in  a  hollow  tree  in 
Canada,  giving  an  account  of  the  settlement  of  this  country 
before  its  discovery  by  Columbus."  The  views  excited  by 
Smith  among  his  family  were,  that  they  should  grow  wealthy 
by  this  Gold  Bible  discovery.  Abigail  Harris,  on  the  28th 
November,  1833,  testified : 

"In  the  early  part  of  the  winter  in  1828  I  made  a  visit  to 
Martin  Harris,  and  was  joined  in  company  by  Joseph  Smith, 
sen.,  and  his  wife.  The  Gold  Bible  business,  so  called,  was 
the  topic  of  conversation,  to  which  I  paid  particular  atten 
tion,  that  I  might  learn  the  truth  of  the  whole  matter.  They 
told  me  that  the  report  that  Joseph  Smith,  jr.,  had  found 
the  Golden  Plates  was  true,  and  that  he  was  in  Harmony, 
Pa.,  translating  them.  The  old  lady  said,  also,  that  after  the 
Book  was  translated,  the  Plates  were  to  be  publicly  exhibited 
— admittance,  twenty-five  cents.  She  calculated  it  would 
bring  in  annually  an  enormous  sum  of  money — that  money 
would  then  be  very  plenty,  and  the  Book  would  sell  for  a 
great  price,  as  it  was  something  entirely  new ;  that  they  had 
been  commanded  to  obtain  all  the  money  they  could  borrow 
for  present  necessity,  and  repay  with  gold.  The  remainder 
was  to  be  kept  in  store  for  the  benefit  of  their  family  and 
children.  The  old  lady  took  me  into  another  room,  and  after 
closing  the  door,  she  said,  *  Have  you  four  or  five  dollars  in 
money  that  you  can  lend  until  our  business  is  brought  to  a 


OF     THE     BOOK     OF     MORMON.  271 

close?  The  Spirit  says  you  shall  receive  four-fold!'  I  told 
her  when  I  gave,  I  did  not  expect  to  receive  it  again,  and  as 
for  money",  I  had  none  to  lend.  In  the  second  month  follow 
ing,  Martin  Harris,  and  Lucy,  his  wife,  were  at  my  house.  In 
conversation  about  the  Mormonites,  she  observed  that  she 
wished  her  husband  would  quit  them,  as  she  believed  it  was 
all  false  and  a  delusion.  To  which  I  heard  Mr.  Harris  reply, 
*  What  if  it  is  a  lie ;  if  you  will  let  me  alone,  I  will  make 
money  out  of  it  /'  I  was  both  an  eye  and  ear  witness  of  what 
has  been  above  stated,  which  is  now  fresh  in  my  memory,  and 
I  speak  the  truth  and  lie  not,  God  being  my  witness." 

This  lady  was  a  member  of  the  Society  of  Friends,  and 
was  widely  known,  and  universally  esteemed. 

Joseph  Capron  testifies  that  "  Joseph  Smith,  jun.,  at  length 
pretended  to  find  his  Plates.  This  scheme,  he  believed, 
would  relieve  his  family  from  all  pecuniary  embarrassment. 
His  father  told  me  that  when  the  book  was  published,  they 
would  be  enabled,  from  the  profits  of  the  work,  to  carry  into 
successful  operation  the  money-digging  business.  He  gave 
me  no  intimation  at  that  time,  that  the  book  was  to  be  of  a 
religious  character,  or  that  it  had  any  thing  to  do  with  revela 
tion.  He  declared  it  to  be  a  speculation,  and  said,  '  When  it 
is  completed,  my  family  will  be  placed  on  a,  level  above  the 
generality  of  mankind  !'  " 

The  Book  of  Mormon,  p.  510,  says,  "No  one  shall  have 
the  Plates  to  get  gain."  Did  Smith  make  nothing  by  his 
imposture  ?  Mohammed  was  rich,  and  became  poor ;  was  re 
spected,  and  became  despised ;  was  elevated  to  positions  of 
authority  and  influence,  and  had  to  flee  for  his  life;  but 
Smith  was  miserably  poor,  universally  despised  and  hope- 


272  REAL     ORIGIN 

lessly  degraded,  and  his  imposture  opened  before  Mm  pros 
pective  wealth,  influence,  and  power.  In  1843  he  owned 
mansions  at  Nauvoo ;  he  had  given  revelations  commanding 
the  faithful  to  support  him  ;  and  although  he  was  proverbially 
the  best  wrestler  in  the  county,  he  pretended  that  the  Lord 
said,  "  My  servant  Joseph  shall  not  have  strength  to  work  !" 
and,  therefore,  compelled  the  "Church"  to  sustain  him. 
Smith  had  inveigled  Harris  into  paying  the  printer,  and 
the  profits  of  the  Book  of  Mormon  came  to  him,  who  called 
himself  on  the  title-page  of  the  first  edition,  "  Author  and 
Proprietor."  He  was  the  Mayor  of  the  city  and  General  of 
the  Legion.  Who  will  say  that  this  "  money-digging  youth, 
living  by  his  wits,"  had  made  nothing  by  his  imposture  ? 
Who  can  not  but  perceive  abundance  of  motive  for  attempt 
ing  it  ?  Who  can  not  but  be  convinced  that  it  was  imposture 
he  attempted  ? 

What  inducements  could  this  poor  boy  hold  out  to  Martin 
Harris  and  the  others  to  obtain  his  connivance  ?  The  testi 
mony  of  Abigail  Harris  (his  own  sister !)  can  not  be  im 
peached  nor  misunderstood.  Lucy  Harris  (his  wife  !)  con 
firms  this  statement  in  every  respect.  In  her  affidavit  she 
affirms '. 

"  Whether  the  Mormon  religion  be  true  or  false,  I  leave 
the  world  to  judge. ;  for  its  effects  on  Martin  Harris  have  been 
to  make  him  more  cross,  turbulent,  and  abusive  to  me.  His 
ivhole  object  was  to  make  money  out  of  it.  I  will  give  a  proof 
of  this.  One  day  at  Peter  Harris's  (Abigail  Harris's  husband) 
house,  I  told  him  he  had  better  leave  the  company  of  the 
Smiths,  as  their  religion  was  false.  To  this  he  replied,  '  If 
you  would  let  me  alone,  I  could  make  money  out  of  it.1  It  is 


OF     THE     BOOK     OF     MORMON.  2*73 

in  vain  for  the  Mormons  to  deny  these  facts,  as  they  are  well 
known  to  most  of  his  former  neighbors." 

.  Testimony  so  positive  and  direct  must  be  received,  espec 
ially  coming  from  his  sister  and  wife. 

The  inducement  held  out  to  Oliver  Cowdery  is  evident  from 
Smith's  own  revelation.  (Doc.  and  Cov.,  p.  108.)  "  Seek 
not  for  treasures  but  for  wisdom  ;  and,  behold,  the  mysteries 
of  God  shall  be  unfolded  to  you ;  and  then  you  shall  be  made 
rich."  This  was  in  April,  1829,  just  after  Cowdery  began  to 
write  for  Smith  ;  and  even  then  it  is  necessary  to  rebuke  him 
for  his  too  impetuous  desires  to  be  rich. 

The  real  origin  of  the  Urim  and  Thummim  ;  of  the  form 
of  the  record,  its  material,  and  copying  of  some  of  the 
characters ;  Smith's  object  and  inducements  to  his  coadjutors 
is  evident.  Now,  how  account  for  the  matter  ?  "  There  are 
over  five  hundred  different  names,  many  incidents,  and  much 
doctrinal  information.  How  could  an  ignorant  boy  compile 
such  a  work?"  First.  Its  name.  The  only  language  in 
which  the  word  is  found  is  Greek.  Mdp/zto,  Mop/zo^,  a  bug 
bear.  ( Vide  Donnegan's  Lex.)  Smith,  however,  finds  for  it 
the  following  singular  etymology : 

"  Before  I  give  a  definition,  however,  to  the  word,  let  me 
say,  that  the  Bible,  in  its  widest  sense,  means  good ;  for  the 
Saviour  says,  according  to  the  gospel  of  John,  '  I  am  the 
Good  Shepherd ;'  and  it  will  not  be  beyond  the  common  use 
of  terms  to  say  that  GOOD  is  among  the  most  important  in 
use,  and  though  known  by  various  names  in  different  lan 
guages,  still  the  meaning  is  the  same,  and  is  ever  in  opposi 
tion  to  bad.  We  say  from  the  Saxon,  good  ;  the  Dane,  god  ; 

12* 


274  REAL     ORIGIN 

the  Goth,  goda ;  the  German,  gut;  the  Dutch,  goed ;  the 
Latin,  bonus ;  the  Greek,  Jcalos ;  the  Hebrew,  fob  ;  and  the 
Egyptian,  mon.  Hence,  with  the  addition  of  more,  or  the 
contraction  wor,  we  have  the  word  MORMON,  which  means 
literally  more  good.  Yours, 

"  JOSEPH  SMITH. 
"  NAUVOO,  May  19,  1841." 

We  remark  on  this :  First.  For  "  an  ignorant  man"  it  is  a 
ridiculous  affectation  of  pedantry.  Second.  As  it  is  the  "  re 
formed  Egyptian  that  no  man  kuoweth,"  we  have  only  Smith's 
word  for  it.  Third.  It  is  singular  that  the  "  reformed  Egyp 
tian  that  no  man  knoweth,"  should  have  the  Saxon  word 
"  more"  for  a  prefix,  especially  in  the  Anglicized  contracted 
form  of  "mor."  And  Fourth.  That  though  perfectly  con 
sonant  with  an  ignorant  impostor,  the  above  would  be  per 
fectly  absurd  from  an  inspired  prophet. 

Second.  Its  matter. 

John  Spalding,  brother  to  Solomon  Spalding  of  Crawford, 
Penn.,  testifies  that 

"Solomon  Spalding  was  born  in  Ashford,  Conn.,  in  1761, 
and  in  early  life  contracted  a  taste  for  literary  pursuits. 
After  he  left  school,  he  entered  Plainfield  academy,  where  he 
made  great  proficiency  in  study,  and  excelled  most  of  his 
class-mates.  He  soon  after  entered  Dartmouth  college,  with 
the  intention  of  qualifying  himself  for  the  ministry,  where  he 
obtained  the  degree  of  A.  M.,  and  was  afterward  regularly  or 
dained.  After  preaching  three  or  four  years,  he  gave  it  up, 
removed  to  Cherry  Valley,  New  York,  and  commenced  the 
mercantile  business,  in  company  with  his  brother,  Josiah.  I 
made  him  a  visit  in  about  three  years  after,  and  found  that 


OF     THE     BOOK     OF     MORMON.  275 

he  had  failed,  and  was  considerably  involved  in  debt.  He 
then  told  me  he  had  been  writing  a  book,  which  he  intended 
to  have  printed,  the  avails  of  which  he  thought  would  enable 
him  to  pay  all  his  debts.  The  book  was  entitled,  the  '  Manu 
script  Found,'  of  which  he  read  to  me  many  passages.  It 
was  a  historical  romance  of  the  first  settlers  of  America — en 
deavoring  to  show  that  the  American  Indians  are  the  descend 
ants  of  the  Jews,  or  the  lost  tribes.  It  gave  a  detailed  account 
of  their  journey  from  Jerusalem,  by  land  and  sea,  till  they 
arrived  in  America,  under  the  command  of  NEPHI  and 
LEHI.  They  afterward  had  quarrels  and  contentions,  and 
separated  into  two  distinct  nations,  one  of  which  he  denom 
inated  Nephites,  and  the  other  Lamanites.  Cruel  and  bloody 
wars  ensued,  in  which  great  multitudes  were  slain.  They 
buried  their  dead  in  large  heaps,  which  caused  the  mounds  so 
common  in  this  country.  Their  arts,  sciences,  and  civilization 
were  brought  into  view,  in  order  to  account  for  all  the  cu 
rious  antiquities  found  in  various  parts  of  North  and  South 
America.  I  have  recently  read  the  Book  of  Mormon,  and,  to 
my  great  surprise,  I  found  nearly  the  same  historical  matter, 
names,  etc.,  as  they  were  in  my  brother's  writings.  I  well 
remember  that  he  wrote  in  the  old  style,  and  commenced 
about  every  sentence  with,  'And  it  came  to  pass,'  or,  *  Now, 
it  came  to  pass,'  the  same  as  in  the  Book  of  Mormon,  and, 
according  to  the  best  of  my  recollection  and  belief,  it  is  the 
same  as  my  brother  Solomon  wrote,  with  the  exception  of 
the  religious  matter.  By  what  means  it  has  fallen  into  the 
hands  of  Joseph  Smith,  jun.,  I  am  unable  to  determine. 

"  JOHN  SPALDING." 

Martha  Spalding,  the  wife  of  John  Spalding,  says  : 

"  I  was  personally  acquainted  with  Solomon  Spalding, 
about  twenty  years  ago.  I  was  at  his  house  a  short  time 
before  he  left  Conneaut;  he  was  then  writing  a  historical 


276  REAL     ORIGIN 

novel,  founded  upon  the  first  settlers  of  America.  He  repre 
sented  them  as  an  enlightened  and  warlike  people.  He  had 
for  many  years  contended  that  the  aborigines  of  America 
were  the  descendants  of  some  of  the  lost  tribes  of  Israel,  and 
this  idea  he  carried  out  in  the  book  in  question.  The  lapse 
of  time  which  has  intervened  prevents  my  recollecting  but 
few  of  the  leading  incidents  of  his  writings  ;  but  the  names 
of  Nephi  and  Lehi  are  yet  fresh  in  my  memory,  as  being  the 
principal  heroes  of  his  tale.  They  were  officers  of  the  com 
pany  which  first  came  off  from  Jerusalem.  He  gave  a  par 
ticular  account .  of  their  journey  by  land  and  sea,  till  they 
arrived  in  America,  after  which  disputes  arose  between  the 
chiefs,  which  caused  them  to  separate  into  different  lands, 
one  of  which  was  called  Lamanites,  and  the  other  Nephites. 
Between  these  were  recounted  tremendous  battles,  which  fre 
quently  covered  the  ground  with  slain ;  and  their  being  buried 
in  large  heaps  was  the  cause  of  the  numerous  mounds  in  the 
country.  Some  of  these  people  he  represented  as  being  very 
large.  I  have  read  the  Book  of  Mormon,  which  has  brought 
fresh  to  my  recollection  the  writings  of  Solomon  Spalding ; 
and  I  have  no  manner  of  doubt  that  the  historical  part  of  it  is 
the  same  that  I  read  and  heard  read  more  than  twenty  years 
ago.  The  old  obsolete  style,  and  phrases  of,  *  And  it  came  to 
pass,'  etc.,  are  the  same.  Signed, 

"  MARTHA  SPALDING." 

This  Solomon  Spalding  appears  to  have  been,  like  some 
other  authors,  exceedingly  vain  of  his  productions ;  and  read 
his  manuscripts  so  often  to  his  friends  that  they  still  recollect 
its  style  and  harsh  names. 

"  CONNBAUT,  Ashtabula  Co.,  Ohio,  Sept.,  1833. 
"I  left  the  State  of  New  York,  late  in  the  year  1810,  and 
arrived  at  this  place  about  the    1st  of  January  following. 


OF     THE     BOOK     OF     MORMON.  277 

Soon  after  my  arrival  I  formed  a  partnership  with  Solomon 
Spalding,  for  the  purpose  of  rebuilding  a  forge  which  he  had 
commenced  a  year  or  two  before.  He  very  frequently  read 
to  me  from  a  manuscript  which  he  was  writing,  which  he  en- 
entitled  the  *  Manuscript  Found,'  and  which  he  represented  as 
being  found  in  this  town.  I  spent  many  hours  in  hearing 
him  read  said  writings,  and  became  well  acquainted  with 
their  contents.  He  wished  me  to  assist  him  in  getting  his 
production  printed,  alleging  that  a  book  of  that  kind  would 
meet  with  a  rapid  sale.  I  designed  doing  so,  but  the  forge 
not  meeting  our  anticipations,  we  failed  in  business,  when  I 
declined  having  any  thing  to  do  with  the  publication  of  the 
book.  This  book  represented  the  American  Indians  as  the 
descendants  of  the  lost  tribes — gave  an  account  of  their  leav 
ing  Jerusalem,  their  contentions  and  wars,  which  were  many 
and  great.  One  time,  when  he  was  reading  to  me  the  tragic 
account  of  Laban,  I  pointed  out  to  him  what  I  considered  an 
inconsistency,  which  he  promised  to  correct ;  but  by  referring 
to  the  Book  of  Mormon,  I  find,  to  my  surprise,  that  it  stands 
there  just  as  he  read  it  to  me  then.  Some  months  ago  I  bor 
rowed  the  Golden  Bible,  put  it  into  my  pocket,  carried  it 
home,  and  thought  no  more  of  it.  About  a  week  after,  my 
wife  found  the  book  in  my  coat  pocket,  as  it  hung  up,  and 
commenced  reading  it  aloud  as  I  lay  upon  the  bed.  She  had 
not  read  twenty  minutes  till  I  was  astonished  to  find  the  same 
passages  in  it  that  Spalding  had  read  to  me  more  than  twenty 
years  before,  from  his  *  Manuscript  Found.'  Since  that  I  have , 
more  fully  examined  the  said  Golden  Bible,  and  have  no  hes 
itation  in  saying,  that  the  historical  part  of  it  is  principally,  if 
not  wholly,  taken  from  the  *  Manuscript  Found.'  I  well  rec 
ollect  telling  Mr.  Spalding,  that  the  so  frequent  use  of  the 
words,  *  And  it  came  to  pass,'  *  Now  it  came  to  pass,'  rendered 
it  ridiculous.  Spalding  left  here  in  1812,  and  I  furnished 
him  the  means  to  carry  him  to  Pittsburg,  where  he  said  he 


278  REAL     ORIGIN 

would  get  the  book  printed,  and  pay  me.  But  I  never  heard 
any  more  from  him  or  his  writings,  till  I  saw  them  in  the 
Book  of  Mormon. 

"  HENRY  LAKE." 

These  affirmations  are  abundantly  confirmed  by  similar  affi 
davits  by  John  N.  Miller,  Aaron  Wright,  Oliver  Smith,  Na- 
hum  Howard,  Artemas  Cunningham,  and  many  others,  all 
well  acquainted  with  Spalding,  and  most  of  them  entirely  un 
acquainted  with  Smith. 

Whatever  the  cause,  it  is  evident  that  the  leading  ideas  of 
the  two  works  are  identical.  If  Smith  tells  the  truth,  it  is 
still  evident  that  Spalding  imagined  a  novel  containing  the 
truths  that  it  "  needed  God  to  reveal,"  long  before  God  re 
vealed  it;  so  that,  if  Smith  be  believed,  it  makes  a  novelist  as 
wise  as  the  angel.  It  is  absurd,  however,  to  say  this  ;  such  a 
resemblance  without  plagiarism  would  be  a  greater  miracle 
than  all  the  rest.  Either  Smith  plagiarized  Spalding's  work  or 
Spalding,  Smith's.  Spalding  died  before  Smith  wrote,  there 
fore  Smith  must  have  plagiarized  Spalding's  novel. 

But  how  did  Smith  obtain  Spalding's  book  ? 

Spalding  wrote  this  MS.  during  the  years  1810,  11,  12,  in 
Ohio.  In  1812,  he  left  Ohio  for  Pittsburg,  where  he  resided 
two  years,  and  went  thence  to  Amity,  Pa.,  and  died  in 
1816.  After  his  death  Mrs.  Spalding,  widow,  went  to  reside 
at  Onondaga  county,  N.  Y.,  remained  there  till  1818,  when 
she  removed  to  Hartwick,  Oswego  county,  N.  Y.,  where  she 
resided  till  1832.  Mrs.  Spalding,  widow,  says,  that  she  be 
lieves  the  MS.  was  put  into  a  trunk  with  some  others,  and  that 
she  had  it  at  Hartwick,  from  1820  to  1832. 


OF    THE    BOOK     OF    MORMON.  279 

In  1825  Smith,  by  his  own  statement,  was  employed  by  a 
man  named  Stowell,  to  dig  for  him.  Stowell's  residence  was 
close  to  Hartwick,  where  this  trunk  was.  After  the  publica 
tion  and  recognition  of  the  Book  of  Mormon,  this  trunk  was 
examined  and  only  one  manuscript  was  found.  The  other 
papers  that  had  been  in  the  trunk  were  gone.  This  MS., 
that  was  then  found,  was  the  commencement  of  a  novel 
on  the  subject  of  the  Indians,  purporting  to  bring  their 
forefathers  from  a  colony  of  Latins.  Spalding,  after  writing 
a  few  pages,  had  abandoned  this  idea  as  being  too  recent ; 
and  had  commenced  his  other  MS.,  which  was  then  missing. 
This  real  MS.  of  Spalding's  has  never  since  been  found. 
Where  was  it  ?  Who  had  taken  it  ?  Mrs.  Spalding  declares 
that  this  trunk  was  full  of  Mr.  S.'s  papers,  and  among  them, 
she  believes,  this  now  missing  MS.  The  trunk  is  emptied  of 
all  but  one  paper.  Shortly  before  she  missed  them,  a  book 
is  published,  which  every  one  recongizes  as  a  plagiarism  from 
this  identical  MS.  Smith,  the  author  of  this  plagiarism,  is 
proven  to  have  been  in  the  vicinity  about  the  same  time  that 
he  began  to  talk  about  having  found  "  this  book."  What  is 
the  inevitable  conclusion  ?  It  was  there  in  the  trunk ;  he 
was  there  to  take  it  out  of  the  trunk ;  he  publishes  a  book, 
and  every  body  recognizes  the  plagiarism ;  the  trunk  is 
searched,  and  it  is  not  found.  The  case  is  clear.  Smith 
stole  the  MS.,  altered  and  used  it.  But  it  had  been  altered  ; 
there  were  many  things  in  it  that  Spalding  would  never  have 
written.  Smith  was  from  1825  to  1827  "obtaining  in 
struction,"  as  he  calls  it.  He  was  a  year  less  in  altering 
and  extending  it,  than  Spalding  was  in  writing  it !  The 


280  REAL     ORIGIN 

objection  is  urged  that  "  Smith  was  too  ignorant  to  adapt 
and  alter  this  novel.  Spalding  described  an  idolatrous,  Smith 
a  religious  people." 

These  adaptations  and  additions  are  the  very  strongest 
evidences  of  imposture.  The  religious  incidents  are  copied 
from  the  Bible,  and  from  the  best-known  events  of  history 
subsequent  to  the  Christian  era.  Book  of  Mormon,  p.  235, 
contains  an  imitation  of  Daniel  reading  the  writing  on  the 
wall:  pp.  23,  28,  quote  the  Apocalypse,  and  talk  of  "the 
Church  of  Rome  :"  p.  24  tells  of  the  American  Revolution : 
pp.  179,  184,  249,  280  are  borrowed  from  the  history  of 
Nero,  Caligula,  and  Fox's  Book  of  Martyrs ;  p.  201  has  an 
imitation  of  Paul's  miraculous  conversion ;  with  this  differ 
ence,  Paul  was  struck  blind  for  three  days,  and  Alma  was 
struck  dumb  for  three  days ;  p.  207  teaches  the  modern  doc 
trine  vox  populi ;  vox  Dei ;  pp.  232,  251,  contain  a  copy  of 
Peter's  miraculous  escape  from  prison.  Ananias  lying  to  the 
Lord,  imitated  on  p.  241.  All  the  spiritual  gifts  enjoyed  hun 
dreds  of  years  B.  c.,  on  p.  234.  Repetition  of  Moses  watering 
Jethro's  flock,  on  p.  258.  The  fall-down  Spirit  of  modern 
camp  meetings  anticipated,  on  pp.  263,  272.  Preaching 
from  pulpits,  introduced  on  p.  296.  A  prophet  of  God  intro 
ducing  "  scalping"  on  p.  330.  Shadrach's  deliverance  from 
the  furnace,  repeated  on  p.  401.  Elijah's  rain  and  drought 
miracle  plagiarized,  on  p.  417.  Imitations  of  Daniel  in 
lion's  den,  on  pp.  489,  495.  Raising  of  the  dead,  p.  449. 
"Candles"  invented,  on  p.  451.  Animal  magnetic  shocks 
anticipated,  on  p.  41. 

The  above  quotations  speak  for  themselves  as  to  the  sources 


OF    THE     BOOK     OF    MORMON.  281 

whence  Smith  derived  his  incidents.  The  Mormons  not  only 
contend  for  incidents,  but  "  imporant  decisions  on  points  of 
religious  controversy."  He  determines  none  of  the  great 
questions  pending  in  the  world  at  large,  but  only  the  minor 
difficulties  that  would  have  been  likely  to  have  reached  a 
western  village.  He  was  "  awakened  at  the  age  of  thirteen" 
by  Mr.  Lane,  an  earnest  Methodist  minister.  His  proclivities 
are  decidedly  Methodist  therefore,  and  consequently  "free 
grace"  abounds  in  the  Book  of  Mormon.  The  Campbellites 
convince  him  of  "  adult  baptism  for  remission  of  sin,"  hence 
this  dogma  is  propounded  and  administered  in  the  name  of 
Christ,  four  hundred  years  before  he  came.  Infant  baptism 
he  ferociously  attacks.  On  p.  567  he  says,  "  Behold,  I  say 
unto  you,  that  he  who  supposeth  little  children  need  baptism, 
is  in  the  gall  of  bitterness  and  bonds  of  iniquity  (plagiarism), 
for  he  hath  neither  faith,  hope,  nor  charity  (plagiarism), 
wherefore,  should  he  be  cut  off  in  the  thought,  he  must  go 
down  to  hell !"  Universalism  affects  his  sympathies,  and  he 
teaches  "  different  amounts  of  punishment  as  well  in  duration 
as  in  degree."  Roman  apostolic  succession  pleases  him,  and 
he  gets  ordained.  "  Total  depravity"  is  disputed,  Smith  de 
cides  in  the  negative,  with  a  wire-drawn  distinction  between 
kinds  of  sin.  Calvinism  repels  him,  and  he  opposes  it. 
Christ's  atonement  does  not  satisfy  him,  and  he  runs  into 
Pelagianism,  yet  he  makes  Christ's  blood  "  cleanse  swords  and 
cimeters"  a  hundred  years  before  it  was  shed,  B.  M.,  p.  285. 

This  is  a  fair  sample  of  Smith's  controversial  decisions.     His 
theses  do  not  commend  him  or  his  work. 

Specimens  of  his  religious  style  of  expression  prove  their 


282  EEAL     ORIGIN 

nineteenth  century  origin.  "The  cold  and  silent  grave, 
whence  no  traveler  returns,"  on  page  55.  Shakspeare 
quoted  2,200  years  before  Hamlet  was  written !  "  Final  state 
of  our  souls  ;"  "  arms  of  mercy  extended  ;"  "  pour  out  their 
hearts  in  prayer ;"  "  awakened  to  a  sense  of  their  condition  ;" 
"  live  without  God  in  this  world  ;"  "  from  nature  up  to  nature's 
God ;"  "  oh !  blessed  Jesus,  who  saved  me  from  an  awful 
hell"  (400  years  before  he  came) ;  "  sing  redeeming  love  and 
grace"  (400  B.  c.)  ;  "  vital  parts  of  body"  (2,000  years  before 
Hervey's  discovery) ;  "  satisfy  demands  of  justice  and  encircle 
them  with  the  arms  of  mercy." 

Examples  of  grammatical  structure  plead  loudly  for  his 
claims  to  inspiration.  "More  history  part,"  p.  16.  "Shep 
herd  hath  called  and  art  calling,"  p.  223.  "Nevertheless 
they  did  not  remain  an  entire  peace,"  p.  400.  "  Stabbed  by 
a  garb  of  secrecy,"  p.  412.  "  They  yieldeth."  "  They  buried 
their  weapons  of  peace"  p.  278.  "No  afflictions  save  swal 
lowed  up  in  joy,"  p.  208.  "  I,  the  Lord,  delighteth  in  the 
chastity  of  women,"  p.  118.  "Harrow  in  my  desires,  the 
firm  decrees  of  a  just  God,"  p.  288.  These  are  in  the  third 
European  edition  !  Hundreds  of  graver  errors  were  expunged 
in  the  course  of  the  six  editions  that  preceded  this. 

Any  candid  reader  must  feel  that  such  incidents  so  glar 
ingly  plagiarized  from  the  Bible  and  school-books,  such  decis 
ions  on  points  of  religious  controversy,  such  cant  phrases,  and 
such  a  style  of  composition  is  unworthy  of  God ;  that,  indeed, 
to  associate  the  name  of  God  with  ideas  so  gross  and  ridiculous, 
is  an  outrage  against  his  wisdom  and  glory ;  and,  therefore, 
can  not  but  conclude  that  Smith's  pretensions  are  imposture. 


OF     THE    BOOK     OF    MORMON.  283 

There  is  no  new  truth  to  be  learned  from  the  Book  of  Mor 
mon.  Destroy  the  Bible,  and  two  thirds  of  the  world's  liter 
ature  is  destroyed  ;  for,  however  controverted  and  disobeyed, 
it  has  molded  ages  and  toned  all  thought.  Take  away  this 
book,  and  its  loss  would  be  unknown.  Some  deny  the 
authenticity  of  the  Bible ;  but  no  lover  of  gorgeous  poetry, 
sublime  description,  profound  reason,  massive  simplicity,  and 
melting  tenderness  ;  no  admirer  of  historical  antiquity,  legis 
lative  polity,  unity  of  design  yet  variety  of  authors,  has  ever 
failed  to  applaud  the  Scriptures.  Independently  of  its  claims 
as  a  revelation,  but  viewed  in  the  light  of  its  merits  as  even  a 
human  work,  it  is  an  ornament  to  its  nation,  a  monument  of 
literature,  a  text-book  for  the  world,  and  deserves  its  high 
title,  "  Bible,"  the  book  above  all  books.  The  heart  sickens 
as  we  turn  to  the  Book  of  Mormon.  Not  because  it  is  not 
clothed  with  the  veneration  of  centuries,  but  its  indistinctness 
of  narration,  its  universal  plagiarism,  its  glaring  solecisms  and 
anachronisms,  its  direct  contradictions,  and  its  mouthing  cant 
disgust  while  they  bewilder  the  reader.  To  attribute  to  God 
a  work  that  would  disgrace  a  literary  man,  is  to  degrade  God 
below  that  man's  level. 


CHAPTER    XII. 

THEORETICAL      POLYGAMY. 

Position — Anti-scriptural — Adam — Noah — Lamech — Abraham — Jacob 
— David — Book  of  Mormon  denounces  David — Christ — Paul — Chris 
tian  dispensation — Anti-natural — Proportions  of  the  sexes — Nature 
confirms  Scriptures — Irrational — "Woman's  position  the  test  of  prog 
ress — Children's  dependence  on  the  mother — Wife — Races — Dif 
ferent  laws  of  marriage — Single  prophets — Lowest  races  most  pro 
lific — "Polygamy  a  preventive  of  prostitution"  examined — Anti- 
Mormon — Revelation — Utah  census. 

PRACTICAL  polygamy  results  in  many  evils  wherever  it 
exists.  As  we  can  only  well  judge  causes  by  effects,  we  must 
conclude  it  to  be  practically  erroneous.  It  then  becomes  an 
important  query,  Can  a  principle  be  practically  false,  and  yet 
remain  theoretically  true  ?  It  is  certain,  say  its  apologists, 
that  polygamy  was  practiced,  and  woman  degraded,  in  the 
Hebrew  nation  ;  it  is  not  evident  that  God  blamed  the  prac 
tice  or  punished  its  adopters  therefor.  Were  it  so  heinous  an 
offense,  it  is  probable  that  he  would  have  expressed  his  dis 
approbation  ;  and,  as  the  Scriptures  are  silent,  we  must  con 
clude  he  favored  and  intended  it.  This  is  all  their  real  argu 
ment  when  stated  in  brief.  It  needs  but  the  slightest  smatter 
ing  of  logical  acumen  to  discern  the  sophistry  of  the  whole ; 
as  it  is  merely  the  argumentum  ex  silentio,  which  is  the 
weakest  of  all  proof. 


THEORETICAL     POLYGAMY.  285 

As  this  dogma  is  made  a  strong-hold  of  faith  with  these 
deluded  people,  a  brief  investigation  of  its  evidences  may 
perhaps  be  useful  and  interesting  : 

I  affirm,  I. — Polygamy  is  anti-scriptural. 

II. — Polygamy  is  anti-natural. 
III. — Polygamy  is  irrational. 
IV. — Polygamy  is  anti-Mormon. 

I.  Polygamy  is  anti-scriptural. 

1.  In  investigating  this  position,  it  is  necessary  to  view 
the  whole  of  the  Scriptures,  neither  limiting  ourselves  to 
the  ante-Abrahamic  nor  the  ante-Christian  periods.  God's 
dealings  are  to  be  viewed  as  a  whole.  In  the  beginning 
Adam  was  created  pure  and  holy,  and  God  bestowed  on  him 
one  wife.  If  polygamy  had  been  the  Lord's  way  of  "peopling 
the  earth"  then,  of  all  other  times,  polygamy  would  have 
been  instituted.  Why  was  it  not?  Malachi, ii.  15,  tells  us 
the  reason  :  "  And  did  he  not  make  one  ?  Yet  had  he  the 
residue  of  the  Spirit.  And  wherefore  one  ?  That  he  might 
seek  a  godly  seed.  Therefore,  take  heed  to  your  spirit,  and 
let  none  deal  treacherously  with  the  wife  of  his  youth."  God 
had  the  residue  of  the  Spirit ;  had  it  pleased  omniscient 
wisdom  to  have  created  more,  omnipotent  power  would  have 
performed  it.  He  did  not  do  so,  "  because  he  sought  a  godly 
seed."  The  only  inference  that  can  be  deduced  from  this 
passage,  is,  that  as  the  seed  of  monogamy  is  godly,  because  of 
the  monogamy,  then  the  seed  of  polygamy  must  be  ungodly. 
History,  sacred  and  profane,  will  sustain  this  position.  Poly 
gamy  produced  men  like  Ishmael,  whose  first  greeting  was  a 
curse,  "  His  hand  shall  be  against  every  man,  and  every  man's 


286  THEORETICAL      POLYGAMY. 

hand  against  him  ;"  brothers,  like  Joseph's  brothers,  selling 
him  to  slavery,  and  dooming  him  to  death ;  women,  like 
Rebekah,  cheating  her  husband  on  his  death-bed  ;  wives,  like 
Leah  and  Rachel,  contending  disgustingly  together  about 
Jacob's  bed;  sons,  like  Reuben,  committing  incest  with  his 
father's  concubine ;  or,  like  Amnon,  defiling  his  sister  Tamar ; 
or,  like  Abraham,  threatening  his  father's  life ;  or,  in  later 
times,  like  the  Chinese,  the  Turk,  and  the  savage ;  or  the 
neglected  children  of  Mormon  parentage.  God  sought  a 
godly  seed,  and  monogamy  was  the  means  he  instituted. 

2.  When  Adam  and  Eve  were  formed,  and  God  rested  from 
the  work  of  creation,  he  gazed  at  the  labor  of  his  hands,  and 
pronounced  it  "  very  good."     The  fiat  of  universal  approba 
tion  went  forth.     Monogamy  was  then  instituted  and  prac 
ticed,  and  that   was  "very  good."     To  seek  to  amend  that 
monogamy  by  polygamy,  is  for  man  to  attempt  to  improve 
the  God-approved  institution  of  divine  appointment.     Until 
Jehovah  just   as  explicitly  declares  polygamy  to  be  "very 
good,"  we  have  no  right  to  charge  it  on  his  wisdom  or  de 
sign.      Two  things  essentially  opposite  can  not  be  both  true 
at  the  same  time.     Monogamy  was  "  very  good  ;"  polygamy 
must,  therefore,  be  "  very  bad." 

3.  When  the  Lord  destroyed  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth, 
because  of  their  wickedness,  he  saved  Noah  and  his  three 
sons,  and  only  one  wife  each.      Peter  says,  "  eight  persons 
were  saved  in  the  ark."     Any  argument  as  to  "  more  rapid 
increase  of  population,"  will  certainly  apply  to  Noah.     Any 
argument  as  to  polygamy  "  being  a  peculiar  blessing,"  will 
apply  to  Noah  too ;  for,  while  holy  enough  to  be  saved  from 


THEORETICAL     POLYGAMY.  287 

the  flood,  he  was  far  more  holy  than  many  subsequent  polyg- 
amists.  But  God  destroyed  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth, 
because  they  were  ungodly  and  corrupt.  He  saved  Noah 
and  his  family  in  order  to  repeople  the  world  with  upright 
and  holy  descendants.  To  obtain  this  end  a  second  time,  he 
a  second  time  instituted  monogamy.  Had  he  selected  a 
polygamist,  he  would  have  contradicted  his  prior  sanction 
and  institution  of  monogamy.  To  produce  the  same  result, 
he  adopted  the  same  cause.  "  Therefore  gave  he  one,  because 
he  sought  a  godly  seed" 

4.  God  sought  a  godly  seed  by  means  of  monogamy.  -Was 
it  a  godly  man  who  first  infringed  this  law  of  purity  ?  Gen. 
iv.  19,  23.  Lamech  had  two  wives,  Adah  and  Zillah.  But 
we  learn  from  ver.  23,  that  Lamech  was  a  murderer.  The 
Mormons  believe  that  the  "  mark"  put  on  Cain  by  God  was  a 
black  skin ;  that  he  and  his  descendants,  the  negroes,  are  pe 
culiarly  and  especially  cursed  ;  that  in  fact  they  can  not  be 
saved  in  the  "  celestial  kingdom."  They  also  contend  that  a 
murderer  can  not  be  saved  "  in  this  life,  nor  in  that  which  is 
to  come."  Lamech,  this  twice-cursed  man ;  cursed  in  being  a 
black  descendant  of  Cain,  doubly  cursed,  according  to  their 
own  faith,  in  being  a  murderer,  was  the  first  example  of  polyg 
amy.  In  adopting  the  principle,  they  have  accepted  a  mur 
derer  as  their  model. 

4.  The  Mormons  make  much  capital  of  Abraham  being  a 
polygamist.  One  important  fact  must  be  observed  here. 
There  is  a  great  difference  between  example  and  precept.  To 
adopt  any  practice,  because  a  certain  good  man  did  so,  is 
often  folly.  Christ  is  a  model  in  all  things,  because  "  in  him 


288  THEORETICAL      POLYGAMY. 

there  was  no  sin."  Before  even  prophets  and  patriarchs  can 
be  imitated  as  models,  they  must  be  proven  infallible  and  im 
maculate.  " All  Scripture  is  written  for  our  instruction"  all 
Scripture  however,  is  not  written  for  our  example.  Abraham 
practiced  polygamy  ;  true,  but  Abraham  drove  out  his  wife 
and  child  to  die  in  the  wilderness.  If  the  mere  fact  of  Abra 
ham's  practicing  polygamy  be  a  warrant  for  me  to  commit  it, 
then,  pari  passu,  his  wife  and  child  desertion  should  be 
also  imitated,  for  the  same  reason.  The  most  rabid  Mormon 
will  not  advocate  child-desertion,  even  though  Abraham 
practiced  it ;  and  ought  not,  therefore,  to  advocate  polygamy, 
even  though  practiced  by  Abraham.  To  deduce  from  the 
apparent  silence  of  God  on  this  polygamy,  an  approval  of  it, 
is  fallacious.  God  did  not  apparently  condemn  the  driving 
out  Hagar  and  Ishmael  to  die  in  the  wilderness.  Who  will 
infer  from  that  silence  an  approval  of  abandonment  and 
murder  ?  If  the  taking  of  Hagar  be  right,  per  se,  then  her 
desertion  is  right,  per  se  ;  but  if  desertion  be  wrong,  as  it  is  ; 
then  polygamy  is  wrong,  as  it  is. 

It  is  well  to  remember,  too,  that  all  the  blessings  promised 
to  Abraham  were  received  by  Isaac,  the  son  of  Sarah,  his  first 
and  lawful  wife.  It  should  also  be  remembered  that  this 
Isaac  was  a  monogamist,  and  that  his  blessings  were  none 
the  less  sure,  and  none  the  less  glorious. 

5.  Jacob's  polygamy  is  a  "tower  of  strength"  for  the 
Mormons.  Especial  emphasis  is  laid  on  his  sons  being  the 
heads  of  the  house  of  Israel.  View  Jacob's  polygamy  first  as 
a  temporal  matter,  and  let  any  pure  mind  read  the  sacred 
historian's  simple  and  unsparing  account  of  Jacob's  household 


THEORETICAL      POLYGAMY.  289 

as  written  in  Gen.  xxx.,  and  they  will  not  envy  Jacob's  polyg 
amy.  View  it  as  a  spiritual  matter,  and  compare  the  bless 
ings  pronounced  on  the  monogamist  Joseph,  and  his  two  sons, 
Ephraim  and  Manasseh,  and  thai  on  Jacob's  own  head.  "  Thy 
blessing  is  above  the  blessing  of  thy  father's,  even  to  the 
bounds  of  the  everlasting  hills,"  Gen.  xlix.  Jacob  practiced 
polygamy,  doubtless  true  ;  but  Jacob  cheated  his  father,  de 
frauded  his  brother,  and  out-maneuvered  his  father-in-law. 
If  Jacob's  example  may  be  urged  as  an  argument  in  favor  of 
one,  it  may  in  favor  of  all  these  practices.  If  the  apparent 
silence  of  God  be  construed  into  approval  of  the  one,  then 
equal  silence  may  be  construed  as  an  approval  of  all.  Noah 
got  intoxicated,  therefore,  I  ought  to  drink.  Jacob  was  a 
polygamist,  therefore,  I  ought  to  take  four  wives.  They  are 
both  equally  forcible,  and  both  equally  fallacious ! 

6.  David's  practicing  polygamy,  while  being  a  man  after 
God's  own  heart,  is  another  powerful  Mormon  argument  in 
favor  of  polygamy.  "  Have  I  not  given  thee  thy  master's 
wives  ?"  demands  Nathan.  David  was  Saul's  son-in-law.  For 
David  to  have  cohabited  with  his  father-in-law's  wives,  would 
have  been  incest.  Yet  David  was  certainly  a  polygamist. 
To  say  that  "  David  was  a  man  after  God's  own  heart,"  to  be 
king  over  Israel,  does  not  involve  divine  acquiescence  in  all 
David's  deeds.  *  So  far  from  this,  David  was  severely  rebuked 
and  especially  cursed,  and  the  Mormons  believe  that  he  is  still 
in  hell.  Viewing  his  polygamy  in  a  temporal  light,  it  en 
tailed  care  and  misery  upon  him  ;  it  surrounded  his  life  with 
pain,  and  shortened  his  days.  Viewed  in  a  spiritual  light,  it 
led  his  heart  from  God  to  the  gratification  of  the  lusts  of  the 

13 


290         THEORETICAL  POLYGAMY. 

flesh ;  it  brought  upon  him  the  full  force  of  the  word  of 
Malachi.  His  "  seed  was  ungodly"  because  he  had  more  than 
"  one."  He  had  "  dealt  treacherously  with  the  wife  of  his 
youth."  He  had  not  "  taken  heed."  To  contend  that  God 
approved  polygamy  because  Jacob's  sons  were  offsprings  of  a 
polygamist,  is  fallacious.  We  know  that  God  disapproved  of 
David's  adultery  with  Bathsheba  ;  and  yet  Solomon,  whom  he 
afterward  blessed,  was  Bathsheba's  son.  As  he  pleased  to 
bless  the  child  of  one  marriage  he  condemned,  he  may  also 
have  condemned  the  marriages  that  produced  other  men 
whom  he  blessed.  It  is  evident  that  "  in  the  beginning  it  was 
not  so,"  and  either  God  must  have  changed  or  polygamy  must 
be  ungodly. 

Mormons,  however,  above  all,  should  never  use  this  argu 
ment.  Smith's  Book  of  Mormon,  page  118,  says,  '•''Behold 
David  and  Solomon  truly  had  many  wives  and  concubines, 
which  thing  was  abominable  before  me,  saith  the  Lord?  To 
say  that  God  approved  the  practice,  on  their  own  faith,  is  to 
say  that  he  approved  of  what  to  him  was  abominable.  For 
them  to  insist  on  its  practice  because  of  David's  example,  is  to 
destroy  their  own  book.  If  this  book  be  correct,  it  was 
abominable  before  God.  If  it  was  not  abominable  before 
God,  their  book  is  false.  If  their  book  be  false,  then  Mor- 
monism  is  a  humbug;  but  if  the  book  be-  correct,  then 
David's  polygamy  was  abominable,  and  to  urge  his  example, 
is  only  to  destroy  the  force  of  all  the  rest,  by  putting  all  the 
rest  on  the  same  level  with  his  "  abominations."  Their  book 
aside,  however,  it  needed  God  to  give  the  wives  of  Saul  to 
David,  even  if  we  admit  the  illustration  as  of  force  ;  i£  then, 


THEORETICAL  POLYGAMY.          291 

David  be  any  example,  before  I  can  practice  polygamy,  God 
must  give  me  the  wives :  but  God's  command  to  all  men  is, 
"  Take  heed  and  do  not  treacherously  against  the  wife  of  thy 
youth." 

7.  Whatever  be  the  opinion  left  on  the  mind  by  the  Old, 
the  New  Testament  is  explicit  on  this  subject.     "  Whosoever 
putteth  away  his  wife,  except  it  be  for  fornication,  and  marrieth 
another,  committeth  adultery."     (Matt.  xix.  9.)      Here  are 
two  actions  concerned ;    1,  the  repudiation ;    2,  the  second 
marriage.     In  one  of  these  two  is  involved  adultery.     It  is  not 
in  the  repudiation,  be  it  just  or  unjust.     It  must,  therefore,  be 
in  the  second  marriage.     Though  you  put  away  your  first 
wife  altogether,  cease  to  live  with  her  entirely,  unless  she  has 
committed  fornication,  even  then,  says  the  Saviour,  you  can 
not  take  a  second  wife  without  committing  adultery.      If 
marrying  a  second  wife,  the  first  being  put  away,  is  adultery, 
certainly  marrying  a  second,  the  first  being  not  put  away, 
must  be  adultery  also.     Grant  that  the  law  of  marriage  and 
divorce  under  Moses  permitted  polygamy ;  Jesus,  in  changing 
the  law  of  divorce,  changed  the  law  of  marriage.    The  practice 
of  the  church  is  the  best  exponent  of  their  doctrine,  and  it  is 
certain  that  the  early  Christian  church  did  not  only  not  prac 
tice  polygamy,  but  many  of  the  apostles  did  not  marry  at  all. 

8.  Paul,  however,  is  still  more   definite  on  the   subject. 
1  Cor.  vii.,  2  :  "  To  avoid  fornication,  let  every  man  have  his 
own  wife,  and  every  woman  her  own  husband."     Each  man  is 
to  "  have  his  own  wife"  to  and  for  himself.     If  she  infringe 
that  law  it  is  adultery.     So  likewise,  each  woman  is  to  "  have 
her  own  husband,"  and  to  herself  and  for  herself  also.     If  he 


292          THEORETICAL  POLYGAMY. 

infringe  that  law  it  is  adultery.  The  fourth  verse  gives  a  reason : 
"  For  the  wife  hath  no  power  over  her  own  body,  but  the  hus 
band  ;  and  likewise  also  the  husband  hath  no  power  over  his 
own  body,  but  the  wife."  In  marriage  he  just  as  much  becomes 
hers  as  she  his.  Her  exclusive  right,  therefore,  to  a  pure  hus 
band  is  just  as  stringent  as  his  exclusive  right  to  a  pure  wife. 
If  it  be  not  adultery  for  him  to  have  many  wives,  it  is  no  more 
adultery  for  her  to  have  many  husbands.  She  is  bound,  how 
ever,  to  keep  herself  solely  for  her  husband,  and  he  is  equally 
bound  to  keep  himself  solely  for  his  wife.  "  The  bed  unde- 
filed  is  honorable,"  Heb.  xiii.  4.  The  husband  can  defile  the 
bed  equally  with  the  wife.  "  There  is  neither  Jew  nor  Greek, 
bond  nor  free,  male  nor  female,  for  ye  are  all  one  in  Christ." 
That  which  is  the  law  of  Christ  for  the  male,  is,  therefore,  for 
the  female  also  ;  equally  as  much  as  that  which  is  the  law  for 
the  Jew  is  the  law  for  the  Greek.  Say  that  the  law  of  Christ 
accords  to  the  man  unlimited  choice,  it  must  also  to  the 
woman,  for  "  they  are  both  one  in  Christ."  God  makes  men 
and  women  one.  Mormonism  makes  men  kings  and  women 
slaves,  therefore  Mormonism  is  not  of  God. 

9.  Christ  told  the  murmuring  Jews  that  "  Moses  truly  said 
so,  for  the  hardness  of  your  heart,  but  in  the  beginning  it  was 
not  so"  If,  in  the  course  of  man's  decadence,  woman  was  de 
graded,  it  was  the  mission  of  Christ  to  save  those  who  were 
lost ;  to  restore  them  as  they  were  "  in  the  beginning."  If, 
in  the  course  of  man's  religious  education,  at  the  times  of 
man's  ignorance,  God  hath  winked,  he,  in  the  revelation  of  a 
higher  law,  has  elevated  humanity  to  a  higher  position.  As 
man  draws  his  mental  and  moral  natures  more  from  the 


THEORETICAL     POLYGAMY.  293 

woman  than  man,  so  to  elevate  mankind  God  must  elevate 
their  mothers.  In  the  beginning  men  and  women  were  equal 
and  one,  "  a  male  and  a  female."  Christ  is  the  "  restorer  of 
all  things  as  in  the  beginning,"  and,  therefore,  according  to 
the  Scriptures,  monogamy  must  prevail.  We  can  easily  grant 
and  only  strengthen  our  position,  that  Jacob  and  David  de 
graded  women,  for  it  is  only  an  additional  proof  of  the  supe 
riority  of  Jesus'  gospel  over  Moses'  law ;  in  that  he  lifts  up 
the  fallen,  and  that  in  him  ancient  superstition  and  female 
slavery  is  al  olished  ;  for  "  there  is  neither  male  nor  female, 
they  are  all  one  in  Christ  Jesus."  They  were  one  before  the 
fall,  God  formed  them  "  one  pair,"  pronounced  them  "  one 
flesh ;"  Christ  makes  them  "  one"  again  in  the  redemption. 

II.  Polygamy  is  anti-natural. 

Nature  in  the  proportion  of  male  to  female  births  distinctly 
manifests  her  will  on  the  subject  of  marriage.  There  are 
more  males  than  females  born  into  the  worid.  In  the  United 
States'  census  of  1850,  the  whole  number  of  nativities  in  the 
United  States  were  stated  as  19,553,068  persons.  Of  these 
10,026,377  were  males,  and  only  9,526,691  females  ;  leaving 
a  surplus,  in  the  United  States  alone,  of  nearly  500,000  on 
the  male  side.  Had  all  these  lived,  attained  the  ao-e  of  ma- 

'  O 

turity,  and  intermarried,  there  would  still  have  been  nearly 
half  a  million  of  men  without  wives.  By  the  British  census 
of  1851,  it  is  seen  that  the  increase  of  the  population  of  En 
gland  during  the  then  preceding  fifty  years,  was  102  per  cent, 
in  the  proportions  of  105  males  to  97-5  females  ;  the  increase 
of  Scotland,  for  the  same  period,  had  been  78  per  cent. ;  in 
the  proportions  of  84  males  to  73  females.  Instead,  there- 


294          THEORETICAL  POLYGAMY. 

fore,  of  a  surplus  of  females,  as  the  polygamy  argument  would 
require,  there  are,  at  least,  5  per  cent,  more  males  born. 
These,  however,  are  but  the  births ;  the  deaths  may  be  un 
equal.  After  all  the  heavy  demands  of  the  fifty  years  ending 
1851,  on  the  male  population  of  Great  Britain,  to  supply  men 
for  the  continental  war,  by  sea  and  land ;  the  East  Indian 
war,  and  increase  of  soldiers  after  the  cessation  of  the  war ; 
the  war  on  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  ;  the  many  accidents  on 
the  ocean,  and  the  draining  emigration  of  an  enormous 
plurality  of  males  to  the  United  States  and  Australasian  colo 
nies  ;  still  the  population  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland  was 
13,537,052  males  to  14,082,814  females,  or  an  actual  plural 
ity  of  females  of  only  three  per  cent.  In  Prussia,  1849,  there 
were  8,162,805  males  to  8,162,382  females,  an  actual  plural 
ity  of  males  living.  In  the  United  States,  and  Australasian 
colonies,  this  is  also  the  fact.  As  there  are  more  males  than 
females  who  emigrate,  therefore,  in  all  countries  to  which  em 
igration  comes,  there  is  a  plurality  of  males  found  ;  and  in  all 
countries  whence  they  come,  there  are  more  females  left.  In 
the  Sandwich  Islands,  in  1853,  there  were  37,079  males  and 
only  33,940  females;  a  positive  plurality  of  3,139  males,  or 
nearly  10  per  cent. 

While  it  is  true  that  more  males  die  from  accidental,  it  is 
also  true  that  more  females  die  from  natural,  causes.  This, 
also,  helps  to  maintain  the  constant  equilibrium  of  the  sexes, 
and  even  leaves  a  small  plurality  of  males.  The  works  of  na 
ture  are  not,  however,  to  be  computed  from  one  people  or  for 
one  period.  A  census  of  the  whole  world,  if  taken,  by  cen 
turies,  would  prove  that  the  greater  liability  of  males  was 


THEORETICAL     POLYGAMY.  295 

more  than  compensated  by  the  plurality  of  births  ol  nearly  5£ 
per  cent.,  or  a  surplus  of  55,000  to  every  l',000,000  of  nativ 
ities.  It  must  be  so.  Were  the  plurality  of  births  female  in 
stead  of  male,  with  a  constantly-increasing  and  excessive  mor 
tality  of  the  males,  and  a  constantly-increasing  proportion  of 
female  births,  the  relative  proportion  of  the  sexes  would  become 
frightfully  deranged  in  a  few  years.  Any  mathematician  can 
add  figures  to  this  formula.  Nature,  in  this  respect,  proves  a 
very  glorious  truth ;  that  the  God  of  revelation  who  created 
man  and  woman  "  one  pair,"  is  the  God  who  in  nature  pre 
serves  man  and  woman  in  pairs  too  !  and,  therefore,  polygamy 
is  anti-natural,  because,  for  any  one  man  to  take  more  than 
his  one  woman,  is  a  robbery  inflicted  on  the  rest  of  mankind  ! 

III.  Polygamy  is  irrational. 

Reason  is  the  faculty  that  adapts  means  to  ends,  and  is 
founded  on  experience.  What  are  the  objects  of  marriage 
and  how  are  they  best  subserved  ?  Paley  and  others  have 
ably  shown,  that  one  object  of  marriage  is  not  only  the  pro 
creation,  but  also  the  elevation  of  children.  Now  the  history 
of  the  world's  progress  is  traceable  by  that  of  women.  The 
nation  that  degraded  women  was  itself  degraded.  Those 
nations  who  most  respected  her  mission  and  position,  were 
the  most  celebrated  and  powerful.  Those  nations  were  al 
ways  monogamist.  The  priests  of  Egypt,  the  conservators  of 
human  knowledge,  were  monogamists.  The  Grecians,  who 
have  given  to  every  science  a  name  and  to  many  sciences  a 
birth-place  and  master,  were  monogamists.  Rome,  whose 
very  name  recalls  visions  of  universal  dominion,  intellectual 
pre-eminence,  and  physical  strength,  was  monogamist.  Roman 


296  THEORETICAL     POLYGAMY. 

matrons,  mothers,  wives,  virgins,  would  have  despised  polyg 
amy  ;  they  helped  to  make  Rome  the  thing  it  was !  Wo 
man  is  the  inciter  of  the  artist  and  the  model  for  the  art. 
Had  it  not  been  for  being  the  chosen  recipients  of  God's 
word,  the  polygamist  Jews  might  have  lived  unnoticed  and 
died  unknown. 

2.  The  position  of  children  depend  on  their  mothers.   Chil 
dren  assimilate  more  to  their  mother's  than  their  father's  na 
ture.      Universal  philosophy,  confirmed    by  universal  expe 
rience,  testifies  that  to  make  slaves  of  women  they  will  bear 
but  slaves.    The  child's  earliest  and  hence  strongest  education 
depends  on  the  mother.     "  If  ever  I  was  any  thing,  or  am  any 
thing,  or  ever  shall  be  any  thing,  I  must  attribute  it  to  my 
mother,"  said  J.  Q.  Adams.     "  My  mother,"  said  Napoleon, 
"  first  inspired  me  with  the  wish  to  be  great."     Memory  loves 
to  linger  round  the  names  of  such  women  as  Washington's 
mother ;  those  of  Cromwell,  Edwards,  Wesley,  Kossuth,  La- 
martine  and  others — mothers  and  men  polygamic  countries 
could  never  have  produced. 

3.  Woman's  influence  as  a  wife  is  by  no  means  inferior  to 
that  of  a  mother.     The  caliber  of  a  man's  mind  is  determinable 
by  the  female  society  he  prefers  ;  because  the  man's  mind  is 
toned  by  the  female  society  that  he  keeps.     Those  who  enter 
tain  a  low  opinion  of  woman's  mission,  generally  act  so  as  to 
keep  them  degraded.     Some  of  the  greatest  men  have  had 
the  best  wives.      She  helps  to  form  the  character  that  he 
exhibits  to  the  world.     She  is  often  the  real  artizan,  but  whose 
name  is  not  on  the  production.     Degrade  the  wife,  and  con 
sequently  you  degrade  the  husband,  the  possessor  of  the  wife. 


THEORETICAL      POLYGAMY.  297 

The  true  glory  that  a  woman  adds  to  a  man  is  not,  can  not  be 
the  mere  sensual  extension  of  gratification,  nor  the  material 
benefit  of  numerous  posterity,  but  mental  and  moral.  Gems 
are  valueless  and  unknown  if  they  be  not  polished.  To  say 
that  three  fifths  of  the  world  are  polygamists,  is  to  say,  there 
fore,  that  three  fifths  of  the  world  are  degraded.  Polygamy 
compares  with  monogamy  as  Greece  with  Persia,  Assyria 
with  Kome ;  or,  in  our  own  day,  as  England  compares  \vith 
Turkey;  North  America  with  India;  France  with  China. 
The  Anglo-Saxon  race  who  are  giving  language,  laws,  litera 
ture,  commerce,  and  religion  to  all  the  earth  ;  who  are  filling 
the  world  with  their  steam-engines  and  printing-presses ; 
directing  by  their  stronger  energy,  and  instructing  with  their 
superior  wisdom,  are  the  monogamic  descendants  of  monog- 
amic  ancestors.  Degrade  the  position  of  Anglo-Saxon  women 
to  that  of  Circassian  slaves,  and  you  degrade  Anglo-Saxon 
men  to  the  level  of  the  Turks,  those  slaves'  masters ;  for  uni 
versal  experience  asserts,  that  to  degrade  the  woman,  is  to 
share  her  fall. 

4.  No  rational  argument  can  be  drawn  from  the  marriage 
laws  of  any  one  people  for  the  peremptory  regulation  of  any 
other.  The  laws  of  marriage  have  been  as  various  as  circum 
stances  of  nations.  Among  the  Jews  marriage  was  obligatory. 
An  unmarried  youth  of  eighteen  was  disgraced.  Girls  might 
marry  at  twelve  years  and  one  day  ;  boys  at  thirteen  and  one 
day.  The  Medes  compelled  the  citizens  of  one  province  to 
take  each  seven  women;  while  in  another,  they  compelled 
each  woman  to  take  five  husbands.  In  Pegu  a  woman  can 
be  purchased  for  a  certain  time ;  while  among  the  Chinese, 
13* 


298          THEORETICAL  POLYGAMY. 

the  wealthy  buy  their  wives,  and  the  poor  beg  theirs  from 
foundling-hospitals.  The  good-looking  girls  were  sold  among 
the  Assyrians,  to  furnish  dowers  for  those  whose  good  looks 
could  not  win  a  husband.  Some  modern  reformers  advocate 
the  breaking  down  of  all  restraints,  and  let  passion  roam  wild, 
unchecked  by  any  thing  but  satiety,  and  undirected  but  by 
caprice.  The  objects  of  marriage,  however,  which  are  "private 
happiness,  production,  best  eduction,  and  establishment  of 
most  healthy  offspring ;  peace  of  society,  administration  of 
government,  and  encouragement  of  industry,"  are  best  sub 
served  by  monogamy.  Political  science  repeats  the  command 
of  revelation,  "  Let  every  man  have  his  own  wife,  and  every 
woman  her  own  husband  !" 

5.  The  Mormons  contend  that  a  man's  glory  will  depend  on 
his  kingdom,  and  that  kingdom  on  his  family.     Hence,  it 
is  argued,   no   family,  no   kingdom.     Many  of  the  greatest 
prophets  were  not  married  men.     There  is  no  right  to  sup 
pose  that  Enoch  or  Elijah  were   married,  and  whose  glory 
surpasses  that  of  these  men?     Samuel  was  not  married,  and 
what  prophet  greater  than  he?     John  the  Baptist  was  not 
married,  and  yet  "  a  greater  prophet  was  never  born  of  woman," 
said  Jesus.     John  the  beloved,  Peter,  and  others  of  the  apos 
tles,  preferred   "  to   be  eunuchs  for  the   kingdom  of  God's 
sake  ;"  and  Paul  himself  advises  the  Church,  "  He  that  giveth 
in  marriage  doth  well,  but  he  that  giveth  not  in  marriage  doth 
better ;"  and,  himself  a  bachelor,  set  an  example  of  celibacy  to 
the  Church. 

6.  Such  a  principle  as  the  above,  would  be  unworthy  of 
God ;  because  it  would  favor  the  gross  and  animal,  to  the 


THEORETICAL     POLYGAMY.  299 

prejudice  of  those  who,  by  their  predominant  intellectuality, 
are  far  better  fitted  to  govern  families.  It  is  a  well-known 
fact  that  the  lower  we  descend  in  the  scale  of  animated  nature, 
the  more  prolific  do  the  races  become.  Swine  are  more  pro 
lific  than  horses.  This  is  not  only  a  fixed  principle  that 
seems  to  obtain  in  the  animal,  but  may  also  be  traced  in  the 
human  economy.  Those  races  not  most  famous  for  mental 
energy,  are  often  most  famous  for  their  numerous  families. 
The  men  of  great  genius  who  have,  by  the  powers  of  their 
intellect  and  mental  resources,  enlightened  and  advanced  the 
world,  have  been  remarkable  for  the  smallness  of  their  fami 
lies.  In  many  cases  they  have  left  no  children  after  them, 
either  to  disgrace  their  names  or  increase  their  renown. 
Washington,  no  son !  Jefferson,  Madison,  Monroe,  no  sons ! 
Shakspeare,  Milton,  Byron,  no  sons  !  The  direct  families  of 
Coleridge,  Walter  Scott,  Earl  Chatham,  and  Napoleon,  and 
scores  of  others,  are  extinct.  It  almost  seems  as  though  their 
mental  consumed  their  physical  nature ;  and  like  the  blossom 
of  the  giant  aloe,  could  only  bloom  once  in  a  hundred  years. 
7.  It  is  however  urged  that  polygamy  prevents  prostitution. 
This  is  a  powerful  argument  in  the  conviction  of  women's 
minds  and  hearts  in  its  favor ;  besides  giving  scope  for  fervent 
declamation  to  their  Elders.  The  fact  is  gladly  admitted  that 
there  are  no  prostitutes  and  bawd-houses  at  Utah.  The  enun 
ciated  penalty  on  discovered  adultery  is  death  !  It  is  far  more 
the  dread  of  this  penalty,  therefore,  than  the  practice  of  polyg 
amy,  that  prevents  prostitutions.  Even  were  it  otherwise,  the 
remedy  is  worse  than  the  disease.  Appalling  though  the 
number  of  prostitutes  may  be,  they  are  still  comparatively 


300  THEORETICAL     POLYGAMY. 

few  when  the  whole  number  of  virtuous  women  is  remem 
bered.  Happy  homes  by  far  exceed  the  number  of  degraded 
unfortunates.  To  save  these  degraded  few,  all  womanhood 
must  be  degraded  according  to  this  strange  view.  To  prevent 
comparatively  few  from  ruin,  all  must  be  sacrificed.  The 
evil  is  partial,  while  the  remedy  is  universal ;  or  to  use  a 
forcible  but  common  phrase,  "  the  plaster  is  bigger  than  the 
sore !"  Besides  this,  universal  polygamy  presupposes  a 
plurality  of  females,  when  the  real  fact  evinces  a  plurality 
of  males.  Polygamy,  as  a  remedy  for  prostitution,  is  there 
fore  unreasonable,  because  impracticable. 

If  the  superstitious  terror  of  the  power  of  the  priesthood 
— the  dread  of  their  supernatural  discernment,  and  the  fear 
of  death  were  removed  from  the  minds  of  the  Mormon  women, 
hundreds  would  obey  the  instincts  of  their  natures,  and  Utah 
would  become  a  pandemonium  of  licentiousness.  Prostitution 
has  its  victims,  and  they  are  thousands ;  were  polygamy  as 
universal  as  monogamy,  then  polygamy  would  count  its  vic 
tims  by  millions. 

The  practice  of  polygamy  among  the  Jews  did  not  prevent 
prostitution.  Judah  went  in  unto  Tamar;  and  Solomon 
needed  to  give  the  injunction,  "  Go  not  after  strange  women." 
Viewing  Mormonism  as  a  religion,  it  is  still  worse.  None  but 
bad  men  in  the  world  encourage  prostitutes  ;  the  Mormon  best 
men  practice  polygamy  ;  grant  then  for  a  moment  that  polyg 
amy  is  a  less  evil  than  prostitution,  it  only  proves  that  the  Mor 
mon  best  men  are  only  one  remove  above  the  world's  worst ! 

Even  the  Mormon  women  admit  that  it  would  be  far  better 
for  the  world  were  monogamy  instead  of  polygamy  the  insti- 


THEORETICAL     POLYGAMY.  301 

tution  of  God.  A  Mrs.  Nixon,  at  Salt  Lake  City,  told  me, 
"  I  believe  polygamy  is  an  institution  of  God,  Mr.  Hyde,  and 
I  therefore  submit  to  it  j  but  I  have  very  often  wished  it  were 
otherwise.'1''  This  was  wrung  from  the  heart  of  a  pure  but 
infatuated  woman ;  and  must  be  echoed  by  all  women's 
hearts.  Let  us  compare,  for  a  moment,  Christianity  with 
Mormonism,  in  this  particular.  Christians  do  not  practice 
prostitution,  but  monogamy.  Mormons  do  not  practice 
prostitution  but  polygamy.  In  the  non-practice  of  prosti 
tution,  they  are  therefore  equal ;  but  in  as  far  as  monogamy 
is  superior  to  polygamy,  and  the  Mormon  women  admit  that 
it  is,  just  so  far  is  Christianity  certainly  superior  to  Mor 
monism.  To  blame  Christianity  because  bad  men  encourage 
prostitutes,  is  ridiculous;  and  yet  the  Mormon  Elders  are 
constantly  doing  this.  It  is  just  as  unfair  as  it  would  be  to 
say  Mormonism  countenanced  indiscriminate  thieving,  because 
William  Nobody  stole  a  horse.  The  general  practice  of  the 
leaders  is  the  exponent  of  the  general  principles  of  the  body. 

Whether  viewed,  therefore,  in  the  light  of  the  Scriptures, 
of  nature,  or  of  reason,  polygamy  is  untenable  and  false. 

IV.  Polygamy  is  anti-Mormon. 

1.  There  can  be  but  one  system  called  by  one  name.  If 
one  scheme  be  Mormonism,  certainly  the  contradiction  of  that 
scheme  can  not  be  Mormonism  too.  The  system  first  estab- 
ished  by  J.  Smith  was  Mormonism.  Polygamy  entirely  con 
tradicts  and  opposes  that  system,  and  is,  therefore,  anti-Mor 
mon.  Those  who  received  that  system  ought  to  reject  polyg 
amy.  Smith,  on  p.  118,  Book  of  Mormon,  states  : 

"  For  behold,  thus  saith  the  Lord,  this  people  begin  to  wax 


302  THEORETICAL     POLYGAMY. 

in  iniquity ;  they  understand  not  the  Scriptures ;  for  they 
seek  to  excuse  themselves  in  committing  whoredoms,  because 
of  the  things  which  were  written  concerning  David,  and 
Solomon  his  son.  Behold,  David  and  Solomon  truly  had 
many  wives  and  concubines,  which  thing  was  abominable  be 
fore  me,  saith  the  Lord ;  wherefore,  thus  saith  the  Lord,  I 
have  led  this  people  forth  out  of  the  land  of  Jerusalem,  by 
the  power  of  mine  arm,  that  I  might  raise  up  unto  me  a 
righteous  branch  from  the  fruit  of  the  loins  of  Joseph.  Where 
fore,  I  the  Lord  God,  will  not  suffer  that  this  people  shall  do 
like  unto  them  of  old.  Wherefore,  my  brethren,  hear  me, 
and  hearken  to  the  word  of  the  Lord ;  for  there  shall  not  any 
man  among  you  have  save  it  be  one  wife  ;  and  concubines  he 
shall  have  none  ;  for  I,  the  Lord  God,  delighteth  in  the 
chastity  of  women.  And  whoredoms  are  an  abomination 
before  me ;  thus  saith  the  Lord  of  Hosts.  Wherefore,  this 
people  shall  keep  my  commandments,  saith  the  Lord  of 
Hosts,  or  cursed  be  the  land  for  their  sakes.  For  if  I  will, 
saith  the  Lord  of  Hosts,  raise  up  seed  unto  me,  I  will  com 
mand  my  people ;  otherwise  they  shall  hearken  unto  these 
things.  For,  behold,  I  the  Lord,  have  seen  the  sorrow,  and 
heard  the  mourning  of  the  daughters  of  my  people  in  the 
land*  of  Jerusalem ;  yea,  and  in  all  the  lands  of  my  people, 
because  of  the  wickedness  and  abominations  of  their  hus 
bands.  And  I  will  not  suffer,  saith  the  Lord  of  Hosts,  that 
the  cries  of  the  fair  daughters  of  this  people,  which  I  have  led 
out  of  the  land  of  Jerusalem,  shall  come  up  unto  me,  against 
the  men  of  my  people,  saith  the  Lord  of  Hosts ;  for  they  shall 
not  lead  away  captive  the  daughters  of  my  people,  because 
of  their  tenderness,  save  I  shall  visit  them  with  a  sore  curse, 
even  unto  destruction  :  for  they  shall  not  commit  whoredoms, 
like  unto  them  of  old,  saith  the  Lord  of  Hosts." 

God    threatens,    according   to    Smith,   "  to    smite    them 


THEORETICAL      POLYGAMY.  303 

with  a  sore  curse,  even  to  destruction,"  if  they  do  thus  take 
other  wives.     They  have  taken  them :  they  will  be  cursed. 

2.  The  Mormons  try  to  elude  all  this  by  the  words,  "  For 
if  I  will   raise  up  seed,  I  will  command  you."     A.  B.  does 
an  abominable  thing.     For  C.  D.  to  do  the  same,  it  would  be 
abominable  too.     If  God  were  to  command  C.  D.  to  do  it,  he 
would  command   an   abomination.     When   God   desires   to 
raise  up  a  godly  seed,  it  will  be  as  Malachi  has  said,  "  He 
made  one !"    If  he  were  to  institute  any  other  method,  he 
would  contradict  himself.      There  can  be  no  evasion ;  the 
Book  of  Mormon  curses  them  if  they  do  it.     Either  they 
must  cleave  to  their  book,  in  spite  of  polygamy  ;  or  to  polyg 
amy  in  spite  of  their  book.     If  polygamy  be  right,  then  the 
book  is  wrong,  and  Mormonism  falls  in  its  origin.     If  the 
book  be  right,  then  polygamy  is  wrong,  and  Mormonism  falls 
in  its  present  position.     But  whether  it  fell  in  the  beginning, 
or  since,  it  is  equally  fallen  ;    and  men  are  mad  to  adhere  to 
a  fallen  system. 

3.  More  entirely  to  enmesh  himself,  Smith  pretended  to 
get  a  revelation,  February,  1831,  in  which  he  says  that  God 
commanded   him,  "  Thou  shalt  love  thy  wife  with  all  thy 
heart,  and  shalt  cleave  unto  her,  and  none  else  ;  and  he  that 
looketh  on  a  woman  to  lust  after  her,  shall  deny  the  faith,  and 
shall  not  have  the  Spirit ;  and  if  he  repents  not  shall  be  cast 
out."     (Doc.  and  Cov.,  p.  124.)      This  was  the  pretended 
word  of  the  Mormon  unchangeable  Lord  in  1831;  yet  in 
1838  Smith  was  cohabiting  with  several  women! 

4.  In  1842,  it  began   to  be  whispered  at  Nauvoo,  that 
polygamy  was  a   part  of  the   Mormon  faith.      The  Elders 


304  THEORETICAL     POLYGAMY. 

strenuously  denied  it ;  and,  in  1845,  an  appendix  was  added 
to  the  Revelations  of  Smith,  in  which  the  Mormon  authorities 
state,  although  most  of  them  were  polygamists  at  the  time, 
and  they  all  knew  they  were  lying  !  "  Inasmuch  as  this 
Church  of  Christ  has  been  reproached  with  the  crimes  of  for 
nication  and  polygamy,  we  declare  that  we  believe  that  one 
man  should  have  one  wife  \  and  one  woman  but  one  hus 
band  ;  except  in  case  of  death,  when  either  is  at  liberty  to 
marry  again."  The  writers  of  this  infamous  affair  knew  that 
Smith  had  children  living,  the  offspring  of  polygamy,  at  the 
very  day  that  they  wrote  it. 

5.  At  length,  in  1852,  Brigham  publishes  to  the  world  a 
pretended  revelation,  bearing  date  July,  1843,  commcanding 
polygamy,  and  asserts  that  this  is  the  origin  of  their  practice. 
This  is  another  falsehood,  as  the  pretended  revelation  itself 
proves.  Par.  20  says  :  "And  let  mine  handmaid  Emma 
Smith  receive  all  those  who  have  been  given  unto  my  servant 
Joseph,  and  who  are  virtuous  and  pure  before  me."  It  is  not 
said,  receive  all  those  who  may  be  ;  or.  shall  hereafter  be  ; 
but  who  "  have  been  given  ;"  not  they  they  shall  be  pure ; 
but  "  who  are  pure  and  virtuous  before  me."  The  tense  is 
the  past  and  not  the  future;  and  proves,  therefore,  that 
Joseph  had  taken  them  previously ;  that,  previous  to  this 
date,  their  virtue  and  purity  was  questionable  ;  that  this  pre 
tended  revelation  was  got  up  in  fact  only  as  a  mollifying 
plaster  for  Emma  Smith  !  If  this  revelation  be  the  origin 
of  modern  polygamy,  Smith  practiced  it  before  commanded, 
and  was  therefore  an  adulterer,  according  to  his  own  show 
ing.  If  he  was  commanded  by  a  previous  revelation,  to  pub- 


JOSEPH  SMITH 


THEORETICAL     POLYGAMY.  305 

lish  this  revelation  as  the  origin  and  defense  of  polygamy  is 
deceiving  the  people ;  and  this  makes  Smith  an  impostor. 
Either  then  he  was  an  impostor,  or  an  adulterer;  and  im 
postor  he  was  in  either  case. 

There  existed  another  and  still  more  forcible  reason  why 
the  Mormons  in  Utah  should  not  practice  polygamy.  By 
the  census  returns  of  1851,  made  by  the  Mormons  them 
selves,  it  was  shown  that  there  were  in  Utah  6,020  males  to 
only  5,310  females,  an  excess  of  males  over  females  of  710 
persons.  Now,  when  it  is  considered  that  some  of  those 
men  had  over  twenty  wives,  and  many  from  two  to  six 
wives  each,  it  was  defrauding  so  many  more  young  men  of 
wives ;  and,  therefore,  homes ;  and,  therefore,  happiness ; 
and  as  the  Mormon  doctrine  is  "  No  wife,  no  glory  ;  no  glory, 
no  salvation,"  it  was,  according  to  their  own  faith,  building 
up  their  own  kingdoms  at  the  expense  of  the  salvation  of 
their  own  brethren.  Damning  hundreds  to  get  glory  ! 

Every  physical  and  moral  crime  carries  within  it  the  ele 
ments  of  its  own  punishment.  Polygamy  is  theoretically 
incorrect,  and  should,  therefore,  exhibit  its  fallacy  when 
practically  adopted.  The  worst  argument  against  the  Mor 
mon  polygamy  is  its  practical  results,  as  proven  in  chap.  iii. 
Polygamy  being  theoretically  erroneous,  reasoning  men  and 
women  should  discard  it  as  a  principle ;  being  actually  de 
basing,  they  should  reject  it  as  a  practice. 

The  charge  of  polygamy  was  invariably  denied  by  the 
Mormons  for  fourteen  years,  although  it  was  true ;  and  it 
behooves  every  man  to  demand,  "  Are  not  the  other  charges 
made  against  them  equally  true,  although  they  may  have 
been  equally  denied  ?" 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

FINAL      SUPPRESSION     OF     MORMONISM. 

Mormonism  as  a  religion  and  as  a  civil  polity — Cause  of  Mormon  per 
secution  at  Missouri — At  Nauvoo— -J.  Smith,  a  candidate  for  presi 
dency  of  the  United  States — Smith  a  Mohammed — Brigham  successor 
to  his  designs  as  well  as  office — His  mismanagement  —  Famine  v. 
ambition — His  cause  of  fall — Mormon  politics — The  objects  to  be  ac- 
"complished  with  regard  to  Mormonism — The  Mormon  polygamy — 
Ethical  and  legal  crimes — Two  methods  of  suppressing  polygamy 
— Legislation  and  annexatian — Duty  of  Congress,  in  the  matter — 
The  advantages  of  annexation — On  the  women — On  the  men — Major 
ity  of  Mormons  foreigners — Poverty  and  discontent — Women  would 
leave  Utah — Many  would  apostatize — Effects  of  merely  appointing 
a  governor  and  sending  troops — Mormonism  as  a  religious  evil — 
Means  to  uproot  it — Duty  of  seceders — Of  Christians — Its  fundamen 
tal  errors  and  weakest  points. 

WHAT  shall  be  done  with  this  strangely-infatuated  people  ? 
This  has  become  an  important  inquiry,  as  their  position  and 
developments  will  soon  demand  action. 

There  is  a  difficulty  on  both  sides  of  the  subject.  The 
Mormons  contend  that  the  Constitution  guaranties  the  fullest 
and  freest  enjoyment  of  religious  opinion.  Mormonism, 
say  they,  is  our  religion ;  to  oppose  our  doings  is  an  in 
fringement  of  our  religious  rights,  and  that  is  violating  the 
Constitution. 

Others   insist   on  viewing   Mormonism   as    a   civil   polity 


SUPPRESSION      OF      MORMONI8M.  307 

alone ;  and  as  such  demand  the  interference  of  the  federal 
power. 

It  is  ridiculous  to  think  that  the  government  can  have  a 
desire  to  oppress  any  portion  of  its  citizens,  or  that  it  has  the 
slightest  motive  to  limit  human  freedom  in  its  broadest  con 
stitutional  sense.  If  the  doings  in  Utah  compel  the  Con 
gress  to  regard  and  act  toward  it  merely  as  a  civil  polity, 
irrespective  of  its  religion,  the  Mormons  must  remember  that 
it  is  themselves  who  have  united  their  ecclesiastical  with  their 
civil  organization.  As  a  churcb,  they  have  the  extremest 
right  to  worship  whom  and  what  they  please.  Rites  tbe 
most  ridiculous  and  fantastic ;  deities  the  most  monstrous  and 
fiendish  ;  altars  the  most  costly  and  magnificent ;  dogmas  the 
most  atrocious  and  profane  ;  leaders  the  most  bigoted  or  cor 
rupt  ;  people  the  most  fanatic  and  suicidal  may  be  tolerated 
as  to  religion.  But  when  that  religion  nerves  the  arm  and 
grasps  the  sword  of  secular  power,  it  comes  in  contact  with 
secular  authority.  Its  claims  of  toleration  then  merge  into 
assumptions  of  sovereignty,  and  wise  men  need  to  hesitate 
before  acceding  to  its  demands. 

As  a  religion,  Mormonism  can  not  be  meddled  with  ;  as  a 
civil  polity  it  may.  The  arm  of  government  should  never  be 
stretched  to  crush  fanatics,  but  the  sword  of  justice  must  attack 
conspirators.  Men  have  every  right  in  the  world  to  be  the  devo 
tees  of  error  ;  but  no  right  at  all  to  be  the  devotees  of  crime. 

It  has  been  their  constant  anxiety  and  incessant  truckling 
for  political  ascendancy  that  has  induced  much  of  their  suf 
ferings  already.  The  Mormons  grasped  at  and  obtained 
power  in  Missouri,  and  by  force  of  numbers,  knowing  no 


308  SUPPRESSION      OF      MORMONISM. 

motive  other  than  self-aggrandisement,  outvoted,  and  rose  at 
the  expense  of  all  the  other  inhabitants.  The  same  policy  of 
political  wire-working  first  incensed  the  mass  of  the  Illinoians. 
It  is  folly  to  suppose  that  in  the  then  new  country,  where 
every  emigrant  added  to  the  value  of  property,  and  every  new 
town  enhanced  every  other  town,  that  the  whole  mass  of  the 
people,  comprising  men  of  every  sect  and  many  of  no  sect  at 
all,  should  persecute  an  industrious  people  merely  on  religious 
grounds.  It  is  unnatural ;  it  is  absurd.  The  real  secret  was, 
the  efforts  of  the  Mormons  to  get  the  county-seat  removed  to 
Nauvoo,  and  thus  to  control  the  county.  Those  living  in  the 
immediate  vicinity  of  Nauvoo,  were  enraged  by  the  thefts 
committed  on  their  property  ;  but  it  was  the  Mormon  polit 
ical  chicanery  that  induced  their  expulsion.  Smith  juggled 
so  extensively  and  became  so  inflated  by  his  success,  that  he 
presumed  to  offer  himself  as  candidate  for  the  presidency  of 
the  United  States,  in  1843,  '44,  and  cursed  the  country  for 
not  promising  him  their  support.  He  strutted  from  off  the 
stilts  of  a  religious  impostor,  to  the  balancing-pole  of  a  polit 
ical  empiric,  and  fell.  It  was  not  for  his  religion  or  because 
of  his  prophetic  pretensions,  but  for  his  political  designs  and 
his  modus  operandi  in  endeavoring  to  secure  them.  Having 
imitated  Mohammed  in  his  pretended  mission  and  revelations, 
like  him,  having  become  the  chief  of  a  second  Medina,  he 
wished  to  extend  the  resemblance  still  further,  and  aspired  to 
rule  the  continent.  Brigham  Young  sympathises  in  his  views 
and  is  sanguine  enough  to  think  that  he  can  accomplish 
them.  With  more  tact  and  greater  pertinacity,  he  more 
carefully  approaches  the  desired  goal.  His  little  world  in 


SUPPRESSION      OF      MOBMONISM.  309 

Utah  grew  too  narrow  f<3r  him,  and  he  spread  out  his  bound 
aries.  San  Bernardino  on  the  south,  Carson  Valley  on  the 
west,  and  Salmon  river  on  the  north,  were  taken  possession 
of.  A  settlement  was  sent  into  Nebraska  to  make  a  fort  and 
permanent  location,  if  possible.  St.  Louis  and  Cincinnati 
were  created  "  Stakes  of  Zion,  abiding-places  for  the  Saints," 
in  1854.  Missionaries  were  sent  to  the  Indian  tribes,  to  ob 
tain  their  friendship  and  secure  their  support.  Brigham  said, 
"  I  will  drive  the  wedge  in  with  little  taps ;  but  will  never 
draw  back  till  the  tree  is  split." 

Hope  beat  high  in  Mormon  hearts,  that  the  Church  would 
make  a  great  move  to  retake  Independence,  Jackson  county, 
Mo.,  which  they  believe  they  yet  have  to  do,  preparatory  to 
conquering  the  world.  War  with  England,  the  rising  of  the 
slaves,  the  triumph  of  the  Saints,  and  the  coming  of  the  Mes 
siah  were  prognosticated  freely.  The  famine  cooled  down 
this  boisterous  effervesence.  The  pressure  from  outside  be 
gan  to  bear  heavily,  and  now  the  Carson  Valley  settlement  is 
abandoned,  San  Bernardino  is  evacuated,  the  Saints  at  Cin 
cinnati  are  recalled,  and  the  St.  Louis  Stake  is  commanded  to 
"  come  home."  Brigham  has  withdrawn  the  foot  he  had 
planted  so  pompously,  and,  fearing  difficulties  at  home,  he  is 
drawing  his  men  around  him.  Still  his  ambition  and  belief 
remain  unchanged.  He  is  tired  of  the  platform  of  his  Taber 
nacle,  or  the  paraphernalia  of  his  endowment  room ;  he 
covets  the  ermine  and  scepter  of  an  emperor ;  and  when  he 
falls,  it  will  not  be  because  of  his  pretensions  as  a  prophet,  nor 
an  infringement  of  his  religious  rights  as  a  man ;  but  for  his 
criminal  efforts  to  gratify  his  ridiculous  ambition. 


310  SUPPRESSION      OF      MORMONISM. 

Having  invested  their  religion  with  the  Nessus  shirt  of 
political  jugglery ;  having  made  their  ecclesiastical  influence 
the  stepping-stone  to  civil  power  ;  not  being  content  with 
supporting  the  laws,  but  covering,  under  a  Jesuitically-assumed 
veneration  for  the  Constitution,  the  most  treasonable  designs 
and  oaths  of  conspirators ;  determining  the  overthrow  of  their 
country  as  the  rubbsh  on  which  to  build  their  throne,  and  the 
center  from  which  to  sway  their  empire  ;  inducing  thousands 
of  poor  deluded  men  and  women  to  sacrifice  their  all  in  order 
to  embrace  such  objects ;  boldly  defying  the  power  of  the 
government,  and  expelling  its  authorized  agents ;  educating 
their  children,  as  Brigham  has  said,  "  to  be  able  and  ready  to 
carry  fire  and  sword,  if  needs  be,  to  the  very  gates  of  the 
capitol ;"  it  is  themselves  who  have  divested  their  system  of 
its  religious  character,  and,  therefore,  subjected  themselves  to 
political  interference.  It  is  themselves  who  are  guilty  of  plac 
ing  their  adherents  in  their  dangerous  position ;  and  it  will 
be  themselves  who  must  be  responsible  for  the  consequences. 
Their  political  ambition  has  ever  been  the  curse  of  their 
system,  and  it  will  prove  its  downfall. 

What  shall  be  done  ?  To  answer  this,  it  is  necessary,  first, 
to  see  clearly  what  are  the  objects  to  be  accomplished.  Mor- 
rnonism  is  a  moral,  religious,  and  political  evil.  As  a  moral 
evil,  it  degrades  women  and  curses  the  rising  generation.  As 
a  religious  evil,  it  dooms  thousands  of  old  and  young  to  perdi 
tion,  for  its  ablest  polemic,  O.  Pratt,  says,  "  The  message  in 
the  Book  of  Mormon,  if  false,  is  such  that  none  who  persist  in 
believing  it  can  be  saved."  *  As  a  political  evil,  it  is  a  system 
*  Tract,  "Divine  Authenticity  of  Book  of  Mormon^"  p.  1. 


SUPPRESSION      OF      MORMONISM.  311 

of  treason,  sworn  to  subject  the  government,  and  hoping  to 
usurp  its  place  ;  an  autocracy  in  the  center  of  a  republic. 

The  glaring  moral  evil  of  their  system  is  polygamy.  This 
is  an  anti-natural  and  a  degrading  practice  ;  but  still  it  is  not 
a  crime  for  the  Mormons  to  be  polygamists.  There  is  no  law 
against  polygamy  in  Utah.  There  is  a  law  against  it  ID 
every  other  State  and  Territory,  and,  therefore,  in  every  other 
State  and  Territory  it  is  a  crime.  For  it  to  become  a  crime, 
either  Congress  must  enact  a  law  against  it  extending  over  all 
the  Territories,  or  Utah  must  enact  such  a  law  for  herself. 
Until  such  a  law  be  enacted  it  is  no  crime.  Until  it  be  made 
a  legal  crime,  it  can  not  be  legally  punished.  Before  the  ex 
ecutive  can  inflict  a  penalty,  the  deliberative  must  prescribe 
one.  Such  a  penalty  has  never  been  prescribed.  So  far, 
therefore,  as  polygamy  is  concerned,  the  people  are  legally 
innocent.  The  legislators  of  Utah  are  almost  all  polygamists ; 
Brigham  is  too  astute  a  tactician  to  repose  much  confidence, 
or  elevate  to  much  honor,  any  but  those  whose  interests  are 
inextricably  enmeshed  with  that  of  Mormonism.  They  will 
never  make  polygamy  a  crime.  If  it  be  made  criminal,  Con 
gress  must  do  it.  Till  it  becomes  a  legal  wrong,  it  is  only  an 
ethical  wrong  ;  and  for  ethical  wrongs  there  can  only  be  ethi 
cal  remedies.  To  attempt  to  adopt  these  in  Utah  would  be 
folly.  No  man  however  informed  or  however  eloquent  would 
be  heard.  To  call  in  question  its  propriety  in  Utah,  would  be 
as  senseless  as  disparaging  Washington  in  a  fourth  of  July 
oration.  They  urge  it  as  the  peFfection  of  purity.  Outside 
Utah  moral  means  may  be  effectual ;  but  it  has  attained  too 
strong  a  hold,  entangled  too  many  persons,  and  combined  too 


312  SUPPRESSION     OF     MORMONISM. 

many  interests  in  Utah  ever  to  be  thus  uprooted.  Were  it 
not  for  the  fact  of  its  being  under  the  restraint  of  fanaticism, 
and  all  the  Mormons  being  equally  infatuated,  it  would  fall  to 
pieces  of  its  own  weight.  It  has  become  a  cankering  sore, 
but  it  is  rigidly  restrained  to  one  spot ;  and  excision  is  its  only 
remedy.  If,  therefore,  it  is  ever  abolished,  it  must  be  by  law. 
It  must  be  made  a  legal  wrong,  or  it  better  be  let  alone. 
Complete  inaction  as  to  Utah,  or  else  thorough  and  vigorous 
action.  It  is  mere  child's  play  to  blate  at  what  can  not  be 
meddled  with  or  improved.  Polygamy  must  be  either  sanc 
tioned  or  opposed ;  if  it  be  sanctioned,  and  to  ignore  it  is  a 
tacit  sanction,  all  is  said ;  if  it  be  opposed,  it  is  a  sign  of  im 
becility  if  that  opposition  be  not  successful.  For  such  opposi 
tion  to  be  successful,  it  must  be  made  a  legal  crime,  and  its 
penalty  must  be  legally  enforced. 

It  is  a  very  important  question,  however,  Is  it  the  duty  of 
Congress  to  suppress  polygamy  ?  Arbitrary  exercise  of  power 
is  a  dangerous  experiment,  and  would  form  a  very  dangerous 
precedent.  Interference  in  domestic  matters  is  contrary  to  the 
true  policy  of  all  governments ;  but  do  the  affairs  of  Utah 
warrant  this  interference  ?  Were  a  colony  of  Hindoos  to 
emigrate  to  Nebraska  in  sufficient  numbers  to  control  the 
State  Legislature,  and  to  practice  the  burning  of  widows  on 
the  funeral  pyres  of  their  husbands,  ought  they  to  be  inter 
fered  with  ?  The  society  of  "  free  love"  was  resolutely  sup 
pressed  by  law  in  New  York;  yet  they  manifestly  had  as 
much  right  to  the  enjoyment  of  their  religious  conception  of 
marriage  as  any.  To  say  that  their  numbers  were  insignificant 
and  their  organization  feeble  compared  with  that  of  Mormon- 


SUPPRESSION      OF     MORMONISM.  313 

ism,  only  makes  Mormonism  the  greater  evil,  and,  therefore, 
more  urgently  demanding  an  effectual  remedy.  For  govern 
ment  to  attempt  to  punish  without  Congress  previously  legis 
lating  on  it,  would  be  an  infinitely  more  arbitrary  exercise 
of  power  than  to  confront  the  question  and  legislate  at  once. 
To  send  soldiers  to  endeavor  to  seduce  Mormon  girls,  as  some 
suggest,  and  by  thus  enraging  the  Mormons  provoke  mur 
derous  hostilities,  is  fiendish.  In  the  name  of  humanity,  if  it 
be  suppressed,  let  it  be  done  legally,  and  not  with  the  passions 
and  injustice  of  mob  violence.  The  great  difficulty  is  polyg 
amy,  it  can  not  be  evaded ;  if  its  suppression  be  the  object 
desired,  it  must  be  the  object  attacked.  If  it  be  not  done  with 
the  temperate  firmness  of  law,  any  other  course  will  only 
aggravate  the  evil. 

There  are  two  methods  of  making  Mormon  polygamy 
criminal.  The  first  is  by  enacting  a  law  directly  against  it 
by  Congress.  This  is  the  simplest  method,  but  open  to  much 
dispute  on  the  score  of  "  legislating  for  the  Territories."  The 
second  plan  is  to  repeal  the  act  organizing  the  Territory  of 
Utah,  and  to  place  the  Mormon  settlements  under  the  juris 
diction  of  the  adjoining  States,  whose  laws  punish  polygamy  ; 
or  by  Congress  legislating  for  squatters  on  public  grounds. 
This  method  would  be  as  directly  effectual,  and  not  open  to 
the  same  objections  as  the  others.  Annex  the  northern  portion 
of  Utah  to  Oregon,  and  the  southern  and  western  to  California' 
Let  these  States  call  on  the  Federal  Government  for  assistance 
to  execute  their  law  against  polygamy.  If  the  Mormons 
forcibly  resist  the  execution  of  law,  they  become  traitors  de 
facto  as  well  as  de  volontas ;  and  the  duty  of  the  government 

14 


314  SUPPRESSION     OF      MOBMONISM. 

will  be  evident,  while  the  responsibility  will  be  on  their  own 
heads.  These  policies  will  be  effectual,  and  one  of  these  will 
be  the  only  effectual  policy  to  adopt. 

Not  only  on  the  sole  ground  of  polygamy  is  such  a  course 
justifiable.  The  Mormons  are  conspirators ;  the  real  object 
of  Mormonism  is  treason.  The  power  they  have  so  much 
misused  may  be  legitimately  wrested  from  them.  They  have 
used  their  freedom  as  a  means  of  founding  a  political  as  well 
as  an  ecclesiastical  autocracy.  It  may  be  urged  as  a  danger 
ous  precedent,  but  should  a  similar  case  occur  again,  it  would 
be  a  precedent  that  would  demand  to  be  renewed.  If  Con 
gress  do  not  make  such  a  law,  or  so  repeal  the  organization, 
all  other  efforts  at  abolishing  polygamy  will  be  ineffectual. 
Out  of  Utah  the  Mormons  do  not  practice  it ;  in  Utah  they 
can  neither  be  frustrated  or  punished.  Not  only  would  such 
a  course  accomplish  this  particular  object,  but  it  would  also 
tend  materially  to  the  breaking  up  of  the  whole  system.  The 
Mormons  owe  their  power  to  their  isolation ;  destroy  their 
isolation  and  you  subvert  this  influence.  Any  thing  that  tends 
to  bring  Utah  nearer  to  the  rest  of  the  world  tends  to  com 
plete  the  destruction  of  this  system  of  folly  and  fraud.  The 
Mormons  fled  from  the  world  because  their  principles  could 
not  prevail  where  monogamy  obtained.  Their  present  seclu 
sion  disables  any  from  inspecting  their  domestic  arrange 
ments  ;  it  prevents  right  minded  women  from  using  their  in 
fluence,  lending  their  assistance,  offering  their  advice,  or 
urging  their  arguments  on  the  poor  deluded  wives.  It  pre 
vents  these  wives  themselves  from  seeing  other  and  happier 
homes,  mingling  with  other  and  happier  hearts,  being  sad- 


SUPPRESSION      OF      M  OR  MONISM.  315 

dened  by  other  and  happier  faces.  It  makes  them  grow  ac 
customed  to  their  lots,  and  habit  speedily  engenders  a  species 
of  contentment.  Break  this  seclusion  and  you  break  the 
chain  of  their  thralldom.  We  can  not  bring  the  Mormons  to 
the  world,  but  it  is  easy  to  take  the  world  to  Utah  by  uniting 
Utah  to  others  of  the  States.  Any  thing  done  to  encourage 
emigration  through  Utah,  or  to  facilitate  communication  and 
intercourse,  will  be  the  most  effectual  means  of  subverting 
this  imposture.  A  wagon-road  and  weekly  mails  will  be 
much  ;  the  late  official  appointments,  if  wisely  sustained,  will 
do  much ;  a  Pacific  railroad  would  be  more ;  annexation  to 
Oregon  and  California  would  do  more  than  them  all. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  the  vast  majority  of  the  Mor 
mons  are  foreigners  ;  that  they  have  been  in  this  country  only 
for  several  years ;  that  the  majority  of  them  have  not  made 
the  first  step  toward  naturalization  ;  that  they  did  not  come 
here  in  the  love  of  republicanism ;  that  it  is  not  this  love 
that  retains  them  here ;  that  they  are  by  predilection,  by 
instinct,  and  by  preference  monarchical  in  their  feelings ;  that 
they  still  cling  fondly  to  their  fatherlands;  that  they  came 
"  not  to  America  but  to  Zion ;"  not  in  the  admiration  of 
American  institutions,  but  in  the  confident  expectation  of 
assisting  to  subvert  them  ;  that  were  that  system  proven  false, 
many  of  them  would  return  again  to  old  homes  and  old 
friends ;  that  while  here  they  are  the  dupes  and  victims  of 
designing  fanatics ;  and  that  these  fanatics  will  force  them 
into  crime  and  danger  if  not  prevented.  These  things  must 
be  remembered. 

There  are  large  numbers  of  persons  very  desirous  but  quite 


316  SUPPRESSION      OF     M  OR  MONISM. 

unable  to  leave  Utah,  for  lack  of  the  necessary  means.  They, 
deceived  by  false  representations,  and  cajoled  by  false  prom 
ises,  have  spent  their  little  all  in  toiling  there;  many  of 
them  going  into  debt  in  order  to  get  there  at  all.  With 
large  families  dependent  on  them,,  they  have  to  labor  wearily, 
to  provide  the  barest  subsistence  for  them  ;  some  of  them  just 
dragging  out  a  wretched  existence,  and  groaning  in  poverty 
and  misery.  "Were  Utah  annexed  to  California  and  Oregon, 
the  citizens  of  those  States  could  not  only  offer  induce 
ments  by  land  and  otherwise  for  people  to  come  to  the 
western  portions  of  their  States,  but  also  advance  means  to 
assist  them.  It  might  be  done  as  a  loan,  it  might  be  done  as 
an  act  of  charity,  it  might  be  paid  by  improvements.  A 
dozen  plans  of  "  Emigrant  Aid  Societies"  can  suggest  them 
selves  to  every  one's  mind.  They  are  now  a  thousand  miles 
from  civilization.  They  need  two  months'  food  in  advance, 
when  it  is  more  than  they  can  do  to  provide  a  week  before 
hand.  They  need  a  wagon  to  carry  that  food,  when  many 
of  them  are  sleeping  in  mud-hovels  on  stick  bedsteads.  They 
need  a  team  to  haul  it,  when  they  have  now  to  go  to  the 
mountains  and  pick  sage-brush  and  dried  sunflowers  for  the 
scanty  fuel  to  cook  their  shadow  of  a  meal.  They  are  poor 
and  helpless,  and  helpless  because  they  are  poor.  Could 
outfits  be  provided,  and  a  brighter  and  better  future  shown 
to  those  poor  unfortunates,  hundreds  of  them  would  gladly 
leave.  It  is  not  protection,  but  assistance,  that  they  require. 
The  Mormons  do  not  use  any  other  physical  restraint  than  by 
making  and  keeping  them  poor.  Their  chains  are  mental 
and  moral  duress,  folly,  and  fanaticism.  Not  only  are  there 


SUPPRESSION     OF     MORMONISM.  317 

men,  but  many  women  who  are  now  suffering  and  sorrowing. 
When  Colonel  Steptoe's  command  passed  through  Salt  Lake, 
dozens  of  women  implored  him  to  allow  them  to  travel 
through  to  California  under  his  protection.  Six  ladies  were 
accommodated,  who  notwithstanding  the  ferocious  denun 
ciations,  the  malignant  slanders  and  the  soul-searing  anath 
emas  of  Brig-ham  Young  and  his  compeers,  left  Salt  Lake. 
Could  fifty  more  have  been  taken,  fifty  more  would  have  gone. 
If  a  means  could  be  adopted  whereby  they  might  be  assisted  in 
leaving  and  protected  from  danger  on  the  road,  their  reputa 
tions  preserved  from  the  attack  of  calumny  or  the  taint  of  sus 
picion,  and  a  hope  of  something  brighter  presented,  hundreds 
would  leave ;  joyfully  leave.  There  are  hundreds  of  as  pure 
and  virtuous  women  at  Utah  as  ever  lived,  who  would  be  a 
blessing  and  a  comfort  to  as  many  single  young  men  in  the 
western  States,  and  who  only  ask  assistance  to  enable  them  to 
remove.  Such  a  vigorous  course  of  procedure  would  alarm 
many  who  are  mere  "  summer  Saints,"  who,  while  Mormonism 
pampers  their  pride,  supports  their  idleness,  or  licenses  their  pas 
sions,  will  uphold  it.  These  will  willingly  secede,  and  though 
their  secession  be  no  accession  to  the  ranks  of  purity  and  truth, 
will  still  decrease  the  number  and  dispirit  the  remnant.  The 
only  argument  that  has  persuaded  the  belief  of  others  is  the 
astonishing  success  of  Mormonism.  Their  faith  is  dependent 
on  this  success.  To  arrest  this  progress  would  be  to  overturn 
their  confidence.  To  prove  by  a  firm,  decided  action  that  the 
authority  of  Congress  is  not  to  be  defied  with  impunity,  nor 
its  institutions  successfully  outraged,  will  denude  Mormonism 
of  many  of  its  votaries,  not  yet  fatally  entangled.  This  will 


318  SUPPRESSION      OF     MORMONISM. 

render  success  easy,  opposition  ridiculous.  These  desiderata 
depend,  however,  on  the  boldness  of  the  design,  and  the  vigor 
of  its  execution.  Vigorous  and  radical  measures  will  have  to 
be  adopted  ;  the  sooner  they  are  adopted  the  better  will  it  be 
for  the  country  and  for  the  Mormons  themselves.  Thousands 
are  swelling  their  numbers  every  year  from  Europe  and  the 
States.  Hundreds  are  being  born  every  year  at  Utah.  Every 
year,  while  augmenting  their  force,  consolidating  their  position, 
strengthening  their  influence,  and  increasing  the  number  of 
polygamists,  also  confirms  their  audacity.  The  longer  action 
is  delayed,  the  worse  matters  become ;  the  more  expensive 
will  be  their  subversion,  and  the  more  disastrous  the  finale. 
Whether  Congress  determines  to  act  in  the  premises,  or 
sanction,  by  their  silence,  all  Mormon  doings,  remains  to  be 
seen.  In  great  emergencies,  tardiness  is  imbecility :  energy  is 
success.  It  is  not  to  shed  blood,  but  to  spare  it:  not  to  sacrifice 
citizens,  but  preserve  them.  Let  Brigham  alone,  and  he  will 
cause  bloodshed  in  abundance  by-and-by.  To  act  vigorously 
now,  is  to  prevent  the  fearful  consummation  of  his  intentions. 
Notwithstanding  all  the  bombastic  menaces  of  Brigham,  I 
do  not  think  that  they  will  resist  now.  They  are  not  yet 
prepared  to  resist,  but  are  steadily  preparing.  For  this  pur 
pose  are  they  calling  in  all  their  outer  settlements,  as  San 
Bernardino  and  Carson  Valley.  It  is  but  few  men,  however, 
who  can  not  play  at  soldiers  at  parades  and  target  excursions ; 
it  is  but  few  men  who  will  act  as  soldiers  when  soldierly  daring 
is  demanded.  It  is,  therefore,  not  force  that  is  demanded,  but 
firmness.  Every  one  must  deplore  the  absurd  and  brutal 
violence  suffered  by  the  Mormons  in  Missouri  and  Illinois. 


SUPPRESSION      OF      MORMONISM.  319 

They  have  had  already  too  many  martyrs  to  their  creed. 
Hundreds  of  women  and  children,  whose  only  sin  was  their 
credulity,  have  already  suffered  fiendish  inflictions  of  barbar 
ities.  It  is  not  to  re-enact  such  ruthless  scenes  of  mob  vio 
lence  and  madness ;  but  with  the  gentle  but  unyielding  arm 
of  the  country  to  maintain  the  dignity  of  the  law.  The  rock 
breaks  not  the  sea  that  dashes  against  it,  but  it  is  the  sea  that 
breaks  itself  upon  the  rock. 

It  is  for  the  government  to  affix  their  boundary  with  refer 
ence  to  these  people;  to  let  it  be  distinctly  defined,  well- 
chosen,  and  resistless.  So  well-defined  as  to  be  unmistakable ; 
so  well-chosen  as  to  be  universally  approved,  and  so  resistless 
as  to  intimidate  opposition.  When  the  Mormons  are  made  to 
feel  that  resistance  is  madness,  Brigham  is  too  practical  a 
genius  to  command  rebellion,  or 

"  To  let  loose  the  dogs  of  war." 

The  mere  appointment  of  a  governor  or  the  bare  sending 
of  troops  to  Utah  can  accomplish  but  little.  Something  more 
thorough  is  demanded.  While  the  Legislature  is  Mormon  ; 
with  the  Mormon  people  to  vote  for  and  support  them  ;  with 
Mormon  officers  to  baffle  a  United  States  appointed  judiciary ; 
with  Mormon  juries  to  perjure  themselves,  by  disregarding 
evidence  ;  and  acquitting  their  friends  and  convicting  their 
enemies  ;  with  the  whole  Mormon  population  to  sanction  and 
sustain  them,  very  little  can  be  done.  Before  requiring 
troops  to  do  any  thing  it  is  necessary  to  state  distinctly  what 
they  are  to  do.  They  can  only  enforce  the  law.  The  laws 
of  Utah  protect  polygamy,  and  punish  adultery  with  death  : 


320  SUPPRESSION     OF     MORMONISM. 

they  must  enforce  the  law.  The  troops  already  sent  will  be 
quartered  at  Rush  Valley,  thirty-five  miles  west  of  Salt  Lake 
City,  and  will  only  eat,  sleep,  parade,  or  punish  refractory  In 
dians.  It  is  said  they  can  protect  judges  from  personal 
violence,  but  personal  violence  has  never  been  employed. 
If  they  do  any  thing  something  must  be  prescribed,  and  until 
such  a  remedial  law  be  enacted,  they  had  better  stay  at 
home. 

The  new  governor,  all  Brigham's  vaporing  to  the  contrary 
notwithstanding,  will  be  courteously  received  at  Salt  Lake, 
but  what  can  he  do  ?  The  people  are  the  Churcb  ;  Brigham 
is  the  head  of  the  Church  and,  consequently,  of  the  people. 
They  elect,  under  their  Territorial  constitution,  their  own 
Legislature  ;  they  are  all  Mormons,  and  are  Brigham's  most 
obedient  votaries.  In  ecclesiastical  councils  all  measures  are 
discussed  and  decided,  and  are  then  only  enacted  at  the  Legis 
lative  sessions.  On  these  measures  they  all  vote  in  unison. 
The  veto  of  the  governor  can  be  overruled  by  two  thirds  of 
the  two  Houses,  but  there  every  thing  is  done  by  the  majority 
of  the  whole.  Hence  his  veto  power  would  be  useless.  Their 
laws  he  must  execute,  or  else  arbitrarily  refuse.  To  subject 
the  people  to  the  arbitrary  will  of  any  individual  is  certainly 
improper,  and  the  people  would  be  justified  in  rebellion. 
Give  him  some  well-defined  law  to  execute ;  make  polygamy  a 
crime ;  be  it  his  to  preside  over  the  enforcement  of  the  pen 
alty  ;  give  him  something  to  do,  and  then  there  is  some  util 
ity  in  his  appointment.  Else,  very  much  perplexed  and 
aggrieved,  feeling  himself  unable  to  do,  any  thing  when  so 
much  is  expected  from  him,  he  will  want  to  return  before  he 


SUPPRESSION     OF     MORMONISM.  321 

is  there  one  year,  or  else,  like  Colonel  Steptoe,  resign  his  ap 
pointment  and  advise  that  of  Brigham  Young.  All  the  good 
a  governor  can  accomplish,  will  be  to  intimidate  immediate 
and  active  hostilities,  while  their  preparations  are  maturing 
under  his  eyes,  and  their  endowments  being  a  portion  of  their 
religion,  he  will  be  unable  to  arrest  their  progress. 

The  slightest  consideration  must  convince  all  that  less  than 
such  measures  can  only  result  in  failure,  so  far  as  the  sup 
pression  of  polygamy  is  concerned.  Many  women  will,  doubt 
less,  without  such  a  law  being  enacted,  leave,  but  they  will  bo 
a  small  minority.  Many  more  will  come  in  to  supply  their 
places.  Many  men  may  quit,  but  those  who  are  fatally  en 
tangled  must  remain  ;  and  hundreds  of  enthusiasts  are  flock 
ing  from  Europe  to  strengthen  their  confidence  by  augment 
ing  their  numbers.  I  am  very  much  mistaken,  if  after 
completely  investigating  the  affairs  of  Utah  the  new  gov 
ernor  does  not  advise  such  a  course  of  procedure  as  above 
suggested. 

Mormonism  is  also  a  religious,  as  well  as  a  political  evil. 
Philanthropy  and  Christianity  should  feel  that  they  have 
some  duty  toward  the  Mormons  abroad.  This  strange  de 
lusion  is  not  retrograding  either  in  boldness  of  assertion  or  in 
zeal  of  proselytism,  or  in  the  enthusiasm  of  its  neophytes,  or 
in  its  disastrous  tendency.  The  love  for  Smith  is  toning 
down  into  a  deep  reverence.  As  time  passes  he  will  become 
more  and  more  venerated.  The  force  of  prejudice  often  dies 
with  the  person ;  the  force  of  affection  clings  to  the  memory. 
It  is  more  natural  for  men  to  love  than  it  is  for  men  to  hate  ; 
and  while  others  forget  or  despise  Smith  and  his  system,  the 
14* 


322  SUPPRESSION     OF     MOBMONISM. 

Mormons  make  it  the  one  great  object  of  their  lives,  and  re 
gard  him  as  the  regenerator  of  the  world.  They  think  that 
God  has  conferred  upon  him  no  ordinary  authority,  and 
sealed  it  with  no  ordinary  success.  They  are  willing  to  suffer 
any  thing  for  this  creed  they  neither  understand  nor  fully 
obey ;  and  are  aching  to  retaliate  the  sufferings  they  have  en 
dured. 

Bigoted  in  their  faith,  many  have  got  beyond  the  pale  of 
reason  altogether.  Like  the  Seekers  of  1645,  the  Camisards 
of  1688,  the  Leeites  of  1776,  and  the  Wilkinsonians  of  the 
same  year,  the  Mormons  think  they  have  received  a  super 
natural  testimony  of  the  Spirit.  This  nothing  can  shake  ; 
being  superior  to  all  reason,  it  is  unassailable  by  reason. 
Some  have  gone  so  far  as  to  declare,  "  Even  though  Smith 
were  proven  a  liar  and  were  to  acknowledge  it,  I  would  still 
believe  him  a  prophet."  (Sidney  Rigdon,  1833.)  "I  would 
rather  go  to  hell  with  the  Mormons,  than  to  heaven  with  the 
Christians."  (Lyman  Wight,  1842.)  Men  so  completely 
sunk  are  completely  hopeless.  Such  may  see  and  suffer, 
•while  what  they  see  and  suffer  only  makes  prejudice  obstinacy. 
It  is  not  toward  these  that  useful  efforts  can  be  directed. 
There  are  thousands,  however,  who  are  not  yet,  but  who  are 
yearly  becoming  Mormons.  Men  of  superior  intelligence,  of 
approved  conscientiousness,  and  of  deep  sincerity,  who  are 
earnestly  desiring  to  find  truth,  and  restlessly  roaming  from 
party  to  party.  These  lend  the  prestige  of  respectability,  the 
power  of  superior  talent,  the  influence  of  position,  and  the 
assistance  of  wealth  to  the  systems  they  adopt.  Such  hear 
Mormonism,  are  fascinated  with  its  novelty,  attracted  by  its 


SUPPRESSION      OF      MORMONISM.  323 

pretensions,  confounded  by  its  sophistries,  and  seized  hold 
on  by  its  enthusiasm.  They  believe,  obey,  and  are  immedi 
ately  set  to  preaching.  Men  in  real  earnest  always  arouse  the 
sympathies  of  earnest  men.  Religious  enthusiasm  is  a  part 
of  our  nature ;  however  dormant,  it  may  be  excited  to  fanati 
cism  by  a  more  active  enthusiasm  than  our  own.  This  is  the 
case  with  these  men,  and  it  is  the  secret  of  Mormon  success. 
There  are  more  weak  than  wicked  minds  in  the  world  ;  more 
fanatics  than  impostors. 

These  men  demand  our  attention.  They  have  not  em 
braced  Salt  Lake  Mormonism,  but  that  taught  outside  Utah. 
This  has  combined  Campbell's  baptism  by  immersion  for  re 
mission  of  sins  with  other  dogmas,  and  many  on  hearing  the 
Elders  preach  are  struck  with  the  apparent  difference  between 
the  accusations  and  their  style  of  address.  Many  admirable 
and  scriptural  objects  have  they  incorporated  in  their  system, 
Bible  bait  to  catch  the  public  ear,  accompanied  by  piteous  nar 
rations  of  their  persecutions,  etc.  They  withhold  the  theories 
which  constitute  Mormonism  as  it  is :  the  dogmas  and  doings 
denounced  by  all  right-minded  men.  Many  who  embrace 
their  ideal  of  Mormonism  would  not  receive  the  reality. 
Their  minds  have  to  be  Mormon-toned  and  Mormon-trained 
before  they  can  be  safely  instructed  in  the  real  principles, 
sympathize  in  the  positive  hopes,  or  be  initiated  into  the 
actual  secrets  of  this  system.  Let  the  facts  be  circulated 
among  such  men ;  facts  neither  blackened  by  prejudice  nor 
extenuated  by  partiality.  Let  them  be  circulated  not  with 
the  narrow  influence  of  individual  exertion,  but  by  the  broad 
hands  of  general  effort.  Before  they  embrace  the  system,  let 


324  SUPPRESSION      OF     MORMONISM. 

them  know  what  the  system  is,  and  not  be  entrapped  by 
plausible  falsehoods,  and  then  lured  to  destruction  by  stra- 
tagetic  man-management.  There  are  hundreds  who  receive 
their  doctrines  in  Europe  who  would  be  disgusted  were  they 
first  to  hear  them  in  the  filthy  obscenities  of  Kimball,  or  in  the 
menaces  of  Grant,  or  in  the  blasphemy  of  Youug. 

There  are  a  great  many  persons  who  have  been  to  and  left 
Utah.  It  is  a  duty  that  they  owe  to  God  and  humanity  to 
let  their  testimony  be  known.  They  ought,  every  one  of 
them,  to  write  their  reasons  for  leaving,  the  facts  they  have 
witnessed,  the  dogmas  they  have  heard.  Speak  them,  spread 
them,  print  them.  Let  them  be  so  confirmed  as  to  compel 
universal  conviction  as  to  their  personal  veracity,  as  well  as 
the  accuracy  of  their  statements.  While  individual  testimony 
is  often  suspected  and  discarded,  every  wise  man  can  not  but 
respect  a  "  great  cloud  of  witnesses."  On  as  many  of  such  as 
see  this  chapter,  I  would  urge  the  importance  of  acting  on 
this  suggestion. 

All  fanaticisms  feed  on  excitement ;  they  must  increase  or 
they  die  our.  Like  a  tumor,  corruption  must  be  in  constant 
action  or  nature  will  heal  it  up.  It  is  thus  with  Mormonism. 
There  is  no  other  system  that  has  had  so  many  apostates  in 
the  same  length  of  time.  Trying  to  maintain  a  constant 
extra-natural  illumination  and  spiritual  testimony,  requires  too 
unnatural  a  strain  of  the  mental  energies.  It  needs  a  con 
stant  and  a  constantly  increasing  stimulus,  or  it  fades  out. 
The  accession  of  new  members,  boiling  over  with  enthusiasm, 
and  full  of  "  testimony  ;"  the  enunciation  of  new  dogmas,  for 
the  origin  of  which  the  Elders  claim  revelation  to  Smith ; 


SUPPRESSION     OF     MORMON  ISM.  325 

the  excitement  of  continual  emigration  to  Salt  Lake,  and  tlie 
stirring  news  from  their  Zion  ;  the  heavy  tax  on  their  purses 
to  "  support  the  cause  ;"  the  fresh  arrivals  of  new  Elders  from 
Utah ;  the  active  exertions  at  opening  meeting-houses,  and 
their  incessant  controversy,  all  these  things  rekindle  their 
zeal  already  in  its  decadence.  To  arrest  this  progress  and 
calm  down  this  excitement  is  to  destroy  the  system.  As  fever 
will  often  delay  death,  so  to  check  this  ferer  is  to  accelerate 
dissolution.  Stop  the  accession  to  Mormon  numbers,  and  the 
"  Churches"  will  soon  die  out  of  themselves.  Mormon  proselyt- 
ism  is  not  in  a  steady  continuous  stream,  but  in  "  fits  and  starts," 
just  as  their  enthusiasm  rises  to  the  requisite  temperature. 

Any  thing  that  will  tend  to  cool  the  ardor  or  damp  the 
energies  of  this  system  must  tend  to  destroy  it.  All  their 
Elders  feel  this.  When  Mormonism  begins  to  stagnate,  it 
perishes.  Hence  all  their  efforts  are  directed  to  excite  the 
people  ;  hence,  too,  the  yearly  appointment  of  scores  of  new 
missionaries,  who  replace  those  who  may  have  lost  their  first 
warmth  of  zeal.  Hence,  also,  all  their  preaching  is  doctrinal ; 
moral  teaching  they  despise.  To  make  men  believe  their 
theories  is  their  only  object.  Whether  their  theories  make 
men  and  women  holier  and  purer  is  a  matter  of  indifference 
to  them.  It  is  not  with  them  to  convert  souls,  but  merely  to 
convince  minds.  This  accounts  for  the  startling  numbers 
who  enlist  in  all  species  of  imposture,  while  despising  re 
ligion.  Men  give  up  their  minds  to  the  molding  hands  of 
other  men  very  willingly,  when  they  will  not  give  up  their 
h-earts.  A  philosophical  hypothesis,  a  religious  dogma,  a 
scientific  theory,  or  any  mere  object  of  belief,  however  ridic- 


326  SUPPRESSION     OF      M  OR  MONISM. 

ulous,  will  gather  around  it  scores  of  devoted  advocates, 
when  very  often  the  most  correct  principles  of  moral  action 
will  be  neglected  and  despised.  Thousands,  too,  will  admit 
the  force,  admire  the  beauty,  and  even  defend  the  claims  of 
such  well-springs  of  purity  and  happiness ;  but  would  never 
dream  of  making  them  their  rules  of  action.  Any  system 
that  promises  a  more  lax  regime  of  morality,  that  allows  the 
gratification  of  more  sensuous  if  not  sensual  appetites,  that 
encourages  levity,  self-confidence,  and  vain  glory,  that  bases 
its  dependence  on  the  observance  of  mere  outward  forms ; 
neither  reaching  our  deeper  instincts  of  mentality,  nor  supply 
ing  the  higher  necessities  of  our  souls,  will  always  attract 
most  disciples,  and  be  most  enthusiastically  preached. 

It  is  thus  with  Mormonism.  It  pretends  to  decry  all  re 
generating  change  of  the  heart ;  makes  conversion  merely 
contrition  for  past  sins,  and  a  resolution  of  amendment  in 
future.  Salvation  is  then  the  simple  obedience  to  certain 
ordinances.  Remission  of  sins  is  obtained  by  baptism  /  the 
gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost  is  conferred  by  the  laying  on  of  hands 
of  an  Elder,  quite  irrespective  of  whether  that  Elder  have  any 
of  the  Spirit  himself.  To  go  to  Utah  is  the  next  law  of 
obedience,  then  the  payment  of  tithing,  then  their  secret  en 
dowments,  and  baptisms  for  the  dead,  then  the  practice  of 
polygamy,  and  all  the  rest  of  their  carnal  observances.  It  is 
nothing  but  a  long  string  of  ceremonies  and  especial  obe 
diences.  From  the  liberty  and  light  of  the  Gospel,  back  into 
the  vague  symbolism  and  forms  of  Judaism,  with  its  robes 
and  allegories ;  sacrifices  and  costly  Temple  ;  glittering  orna 
ments  and  golden  vessels ;  regal  priesthood  and  absolute  au- 


SUPPRESSION      OF     MORMONISM.  327 

thority  have  the  Mormons  stepped.  It  is  a  return  to  a  lower 
law ;  and  their  members  are  accordingly  all  of  the  lower 
order  of  minds.  They  ought  to  have  lived  in  David's  day. 
They  would  have  made  excellent  Jews.  Jesus  has  come  in 
vain  for  them,  for  they  return  to  the  "  yoke  too  grievous  to  be 
borne."  Unable  to  grasp  or  comprehend  the  higher  or 
spiritual  religion,  they  have  gravitated  to  their  own  level,  and 
reinstated  the  lower  or  ceremonial  religion. 

This  necessitates,  and  seems  to  justify  their  polygamy  to 
them  ;  and  it  is  why  many  good  men  practice  it  with,  I  am 
satisfied,  the  purest  of  motives.  Purity  of  motive,  however, 
in  short-sighted  mortality,  does  not  always  constitute  purity 
of  action.  Re-adopting  the  formalism  of  Judaism,  it  is  nat 
ural  they  should  re-adopt  the  polygamy  of  Judaism  ;  and 
wish  women  to  become  second  Ruths,  as  they  are  willing  to 
become  a  Boaz.  Here  is  the  great  religious  error  of  Mor- 
monism.  It  is  gradual  training  in  these  material  views,  a 
great  deal  more  attention  being  paid  to  the  Old  Testament 
than  the  New,  that  has  induced  Mormon  men  and  women  to 
sincerely  believe  and  obey  the  "  authorities."  As  a  natural 
consequence  of  their  stand-point,  they  have  adopted  the 
Aaronic  and  Melchisedec  priesthoods  as  those  authorities ; 
they  have  literalized  all  the  Old  Testament  passages  about 
the  person  of  the  deity,  till  Professor  Pratt  has  got  God  into 
"the  shape,  appearance,  and  size  of  a  man,"  Smith  has  given 
him  many  wives,  and  made  him  physically  beget  Jesus 
Christ ;  and  Brigham  has  made  him  into  being  Adam  him 
self.  It  is  the  re-adoption  of  this  old  ceremonial  law,  even  to 
a  belief  in  sacrifices  of  sheep  and  doves,  that  gives  their  sys- 


328  SUPPRESSION      OF      MORMONISM. 

tern  its  partial  consistency,  and  secures  attention  in  the  world, 
because  affording  many  Scripture  proofs  and  much  specious 
controversial  argument.  The  building  a  physical  Zion,  a 
literal  gathering  of  the  Jews  to  Jerusalem,  a  literal  separate 
hiding  away,  and  not  dispersion,  of  the  ten  tribes,  and  their 
return  to  Palestine,  etc.,  etc.,  are  Mormon  dogmas,  and  they 
inevitably  follow  the  assumption  of  the  old  law,  which  was 
instituted  as  a  course  of  tuition,  and  intended  only  as  a 
"school-master  to  bring  men  to  Christ."  His  is  the  higher  law 
of  perfect  liberty ;  the  practice  of  right  more  than  the  ob 
servance  of  forms,  pure  morals  rather  than  mere  dogmas,  holy 
love  of  truth,  and  not  implicit  obedience  to  priesthoods. 

These  forms  and  ceremonies,  priesthoods  and  dogmas,  were 
but  the  abacus  with  which  God  has  instructed  his  children  in 
their  arithmetic  of  religion.  The  love  of  the  abstract  princi 
ple  has  been  diverted  to  attachment  for  the  material  object ; 
and  in  the  worship  of  the  truth,  they  have  ignorantly  adored 
the  symbol.  As  the  perception  of  the  concrete  must  precede 
the  conception  of  the  abstract,  so  must  the  material  and 
symbolic  precede  the  refined  and  spiritual.  As  children  can 
not  separate  the  idea  of  "  one  and  one  make  two"  from  the 
marbles  or  sticks  with  which  it  was  illustrated  and  by  which 
it  was  taught ;  so  children  in  religion  had  to  be  taught  by 
means  of  forms  and  ceremonies,  and  now  many  are  still  unable 
to  separate  the  two.  When  the  child  can  perceive  the  abstract 
truth  as  exhibited  in,  but  not  belonging  to,  the  material  illus 
trations,  then  the  material  illustrations  are  discarded.  So 
when  men  can  appreciate  the  abstract  truths  of  religion  as 
exhibited  in,  but  not  belonging  to,  certain  ceremonies,  then 


SUPPRESSION     OF     MORMONISM.  329 

the  mere  ceremonies  are  discarded.  They  cease  to  be  more 
than  the  representations,  and  are  no  longer  the  embodiments  of 
truths.  So  purity  was  loved  instead  of  the  spotless  lamb  ; 
the  power  of  God,  and  not  the  power  of  priesthoods ;  universal 
worship,  and  not  the  Temple;  the  adoration  of  the  Spirit, 
and  no  longer  obedience  to  forms.  Without  these  sticks  and 
stones,  God  in  the  New  Testament  has  come  nearer  to  man, 
because,  by  his  previous  education,  man  has  risen  up  nearer 
to  God.  To  sink  back  into  the  mysticism  and  symbolism  of 
the  past,  is  a  relapse  into  barbarism  and  ignorance.  It  is  the 
return  of  the  mathematician  to  the  marbles  and  sticks  with 
which  he  learned  addition ;  and  such  a  doctrine  is  therefore 
only  as  the  drivelings  of  senility  when  sinking  into  second 
childhood. 

It  is  on  this  radical  and  fundamental  error  that  the  whole 
of  Mormonism  is  founded.  Instead  of  ascending  from  the 
concrete  and  material  to  the  abstract  and  spiritual,  they  have 
fallen  from  the  abstract  to  the  concrete.  Like  the  children 
returning  to  the  abacus  of  their  infantile  arithmetic,  they 
have  gone  back  to  the  symbols  and  forms  of  Mosaic  religion. 
Many  able  and  estimable  ministers  have  completely  failed  in 
their  opposition  to  this  system,  because  they  have  not  de 
scended  to  Mormon  ground.  Fighting  from  different  eleva 
tions,  they  only  beat  the  air.  It  is  not  Mormon  piety,  but 
their  contempt  for  it ;  not  their  moral  theses,  but  their  enun 
ciation  of  law  that  arrests  the  attention  of  honest  unthinking 
men  and  women.  It  is  natural  to  prefer  forms,  because  it  is 
easier  to  obey  than  it  is  to  feel ;  baptism  of  the  body  is  eas 
ier  performed  than  regeneration  is  obtained.  A.  Monod,  the 


330  SUPPRESSION      OF      MORMONISM. 

great  French  evangelical  orator,  uttered  a  wise  remark  when 
he  said,  "  Les  hommes  aimeiit  plus  les  sacrifices  que  la  re 
ligion,  parce  que  c'est  plus  facile  de  trouver  des  victimes  que 
des  vertus" 

To  successfully  controvert  Mormonism,  it  must  be  met  on 
its  own  basis.  The  key  to  the  whole  system  is  this  re-adop 
tion  of  the  ceremonial  law.  Its  whole  authority  depends  on 
the  pretensions  of  Smith.  These  are  their  fundamentals ;  and 
not  only,  therefore,  the  proper  places  to  attack,  but  they  are 
also,  necessarily,  their  weakest  points  to  defend. 


LETTER    TO    BEIGHAM    YOUNG. 

gIB  : — TO  perform  an  action  without  being  prepared  to 
assign  the  reasons  inducing  that  action,  is  the  conduct  of  a 
fool.  I  have  renounced  your  system,  and  denounced  your 
designs.  My  reason  for  doing  the  first  is  my  conviction  of 
your  error ;  my  reason  for  the  last,  is  my  desire  to  avert  the 
sacrifice  of  your  deceived  followers. 

I  have  not  resolved  on  this  important  and  final  step  without 
much  deliberation  ;  and  I  am  entirely  persuaded  of  doing  my 
duty  to  God  and  man  in  taking  it.  To  the  full  extent  of  my 
limited  opportunities  and  abilities  I  have  investigated  your 
faith.  Increasing  insight  into  your  dogmas  produced  an  in 
creasing  conviction  of  your  error.  I  carefully  weighed  my 
responsibility  and  decided  on  my  course. 

I  have  revealed  the  mysteries  of  your  secret  order  with  its 
treasonable  oaths.  I  did  it,  sir,  not  to  gratify  a  merely  morbid 
curiosity  of  the  public ;  but  to  show  your  adherents  abroad, 
what  are  the  schemes  to  which  they  are  required  to  lend 
themselves ;  and  what  are  the  blessings  that  you  assert  God 
has  in  reserve  for  them.  I  have  done  so,  also,  to  direct  the 
attention  of  the  government  of  the  United  States  to  the  real 
character  and  object  of  your  system.  Not  only  that  they 
should  be  beforehand  prepared,  but  also  that  they  might  be 


332  LETTER     TO     BRIG  II  AM     YOUNG. 

induced  to  adopt  vigorous  measures,  as  to  delay  action  is  only 
to  afford  you  opportunity  to  increase  your  numbers,  and  if 
you  will  not  forego  your  treasonable  intentions,  to  increase 
also  the  number  of  the  sufferers.  I  feel  perfectly  sanctioned 
by  God  and  reason  in  violating  the  oaths  of  secrecy ;  equally 
as  much  as  I  feel  justified  in  disregarding  my  covenant  of 
obedience. 

That  by  this  violation,  I  render  myself  liable  to  the  penalty 
you  have  affixed  to  your  obligations,  I  am  aware  ;  but  I  be 
lieve  my  duty  surpasses  my  risk.  If  your  system  be  true,  it 
ought  not  to  shrink  from  the  broad  glare  of  universal  sun 
shine.  If  it  be  false,  the  more  thoroughly  it  is  known,  the 
better  will  it  be  for  yourselves  and  for  mankind  at  large. 

I  have  endeavored  in  the  chapters  on  yourself,  to  render 
you  as  you  are ;  neither  distorted  by  prejudice,  nor  favored 
by  partiality.  I  do  not  wish  to  unduly  inflame  men's  anger, 
nor  excite  men's  approbation  toward  yourself.  You  have 
made  yourself  notorious ;  and  have,  therefore,  given  yourself 
to  the  public.  I  do  not  cherish  any  feeling  of  enmity  to 
yourself,  or  your  adherents.  I  only  wish  that  your  really 
great  abilities  had  been  devoted  to  a  worthier  cause,  and  for 
the  promotion  of  a  nobler  object ;  and  only  regret  that  you 
have  so  fatally  involved  your  believers  in  your  policy,  who 
are  so  blindly  infatuated  in  your  interests. 

That  you  are  sincere  in  your  confidence  in  Joseph  Smith, 
and  in  your  own  pretensions,  I  believe  and  acknowledge ;  but, 
at  the  same  time,  that  you  are  leading  confiding  thousands  to 
misery  and  ruin,  is  evident.  Charity  for  them  would  induce 
the  frustration  of  your  designs. 


LETTER     TO     BRIQHAM     YOUNG.  333 

I  admire  the  industry  of  your  people,  their  notable  labors 
and  their  general  sincerity,  but  I  deplore  their  delusion, 
and  I  denounce  their  deceivers.  I  have  carefully  chosen  my 
course,  and  shall,  with  the  help  of  God,  pursue  it. 

That  you  will  ever  be  made,  in  this  life,  to  see  your  mad 
ness  and  its  inevitable  consequences,  I  can  not  believe.  That 
you  would  forsake  it  if  you  did  see  it,  I  can  not  hope.  One 
thing  is  certain,  you  have  forged  your  own  chains,  as  well  as 
the  fetters  that  you  have  fastened  on  your  deluded  people. 
You  are  as  hopelessly  your  own  slave  as  ever  you  wished  to 
make  others. 

But  while  you  can  not  retract  the  past,  you  are  still  able  to 
prevent  much  sorrow  and  difficulties  in  the  future.  The  polit 
ical  ambition  of  Joseph  Smith  entailed  suffering,  exodus,  and 
death  upon  his  blindly  devoted  and  fanatically  infatuated 
followers.  Your  political  ambition  will  involve  in  the  same 
disastrous  consequences  your  still  more  numerous  adherents. 
Your  own  wisdom  must  teach  that  your  object  of  founding  an 
independent  kingdom  is  hopeless ;  and  that  to  attempt  it  is  to 
insure  your  own  destruction.  You  must  be  aware,  too,  that 
while  religious  martyrs  are  pitied,  political  adventurers  are 
despised  ;  and  that  such  a  course  will  divest  you  of  all  sym 
pathy,  and  hand  you  and  your  ambition  down  to  universal 
execration  and  contempt.  If  you  do  push  matters  to  so 
lamentable  an  extremity  as  to  come  into  collision  with  the 
federal  authorities,  remember  that  it  is  YOU  and  not  THEY  who 
will  then  be  the  real  cause  of  the  suffering  and  bloodshed  that 
will  ensue !  Were  you  the  President  of  the  United  States 
to-morrow,  and  were  such  another  system  as  Mormonism,  with 


334  LETTER     TO     BRIGHAM     YOUNG. 

such  another  leader  as  yourself,  to  attempt  to  defy  or  outrage 
your  country  and  its  institutions,  remember  that  you  would 
be  the  first  man  to  crush  them,  as  you  crushed  Sidney  Rigdon 
at  Nauvoo  !  What  you  would  yourself  do  as  President,  will 
be  done  by  the  President,  should  occasion  require  such  energy 
and  action.  To  oppose  the  government  is  to  expose  yourself; 
to  oppose  it  so  far  as  to  shed  blood,  is  to  bring  the  blood  that 
may  be  shed  on  your  own  hands  and  head.  Wisdom  should 
dictate  caution,  and  caution  would  advise  the  renunciation  of 
wild  and  impracticable  schemes,  which  can  only  end  in  con 
fusion,  and  involve  the  ruin  of  simple  and  devoted  thousands. 
Not  alone  could  you  prevent  such  ruin,  but  you  could  ac 
complish  much  good ;  and,  instead  of  being  remembered  as 
only  a  curse  to  your  race,  leave  some  gleam  of  a  better  heart 
and  a  sounder  mind.  Your  position  would  enable  you  to  ac 
complish  much  toward  the  advancement  of  the  interests  of 
your  country  and  the  consummation  of  human  progress. 
That  you  have  energy  sufficient  to  arrest  and  break  up  the 
whole  system  of  Mormon  politics,  that  you  could  quell  the 
disturbance  and  control  the  shock  which  would  ensue  from 
such  an  attempt,  that  you  could  divert  the  attention  and 
direct  the  power  of  your  followers  into  a  far  higher  and  more 
rational  pursuits,  I  do  not  for  a  moment  doubt.  That  you 
have  not  sufficient  moral  strength  to  attempt  it,  I  know.  The 
most  the  world  can  hope  and  ask  from  you  is  to  save  your 
self,  and  spare  your  believers  from  the  suffering  and  destruc 
tion  consequent  on  the  struggle  to  which  you  are  endeavoring 
to  incite  them.  I  will  say  nothing  to  you  of  the  wickedness 
or  of  the  treason  of  your  effort  to  establish  such  a  kingdom  in 


LETTER     TO     BRIGHAM     YOUNG.  335 

the  center  of  your  country.  All  I  urge  on  you  is  its  folly  and 
its  impossibility.  This,  in  your  serious  moments,  you  must 
feel.  Those  sanguine  aspirants  of  your  advisers,  who  really 
entertain  the  hope  of  ultimate  success,  confide  too  much  on 
the  neglect  or  the  imbecility  of  their  country's  government. 
Such  a  confidence  is  ridiculous.  Perhaps  you  may  rely  on 
supernatural  assistance :  if  so,  where  were  your  gods  at  Mis 
souri,  at  Carthage,  at  Nauvoo  ?  Your  Adam-deity,  like  the 
Baal  of  Elijah's  day,  was  "  sleeping  or  taking  a  journey." 

It  is  not  presumption  in  me  thus  to  direct  your  attention  to 
this  subject.  Having  made  yourself  so  conspicuous,  you  have 
given  any  one  the  right  to  address  you.  I  have  spoken  to 
you  as  a  prophet ;  as  a  man  to  a  man  I  now  write  to  you.  I 
admire  your  genius,  but  I  deplore  its  exercise.  I  no  more 
dread  your  enmity  than  I  fear  your  priestly  anathemas.  The 
slanders  your  coadjutors  may  attempt  to  circulate,  I  despise. 
You  told  the  people  once,  that  your  "  words  were  but  wind ;" 
as  wind  they  may  be  safely  encountered. 

I  confidently  believe  the  time  will  come  when  honest  men 
will  be  undeceived,  desert  your  standard,  and  leave  you  for 
saken  and  sorrow-stricken  to  remorse  for  the  past  and  terror 
for  the  future.  To  this  end  I  shall  labor,  and  constantly  and 
fervently  pray  that  your  power  and  your  system  may  find  a 
speedy  and  an  eternal  grave  ;  that  it  may  be  sunk  in  the  ob 
livion  of  its  own  mysteries,  and  be  buried  under  the  mountain 
of  its  own  ignominy. 

JOHN  HYDE, 

NEW  YOKE,  July,  1857. 


W.    P.    FETRI«G€    &    CO., 

281  BROADWAY  (OPPOSITE  STEWARTS), 
NEW     YORK. 

W.     P.     FETRIDGE,  W.     H.     BROWN. 

PUBLISHERS  AND  BOOKSELLERS, 

PROPRIETORS  OF 

"BALM  OF  THOUSAND  FLOWERS"  AND  "WOODLAND  CREAM" 


PARTICULAR  ATTENTION  PAID  TO  ORDERS  FROM  THE  COUNTRY. 

LIBRARIES  SUPPLIED  AT  PUBLISHERS'  PRICES. 
ALL  ORDERS  ANSWERED  WITH  PROMPTNESS  AT  LOW  RATES. 

THE  MOST  MAGNIFICENT  BOOK-STORE  IN 
THE  COUNTRY, 


DICK'S   WORKS. 


THE 

COMPLETE  WORKS 

OF 

THOMAS  DICK,  LL.D. 

CONTAINING 

ESSAY   ON    THE   SIN  AND   EVILS   OF   COVETOUSNESS ;    CELESTIAL 

SCENERY;  SIDEREAL  HEAVENS;  PRACTICAL  ASTRONOMER- 

THE  SOLAR  SYSTEM,  WITH  MORAL  AND  RELIGIOUS 

REFLECTIONS;    THE  ATMOSPHERE  AND 

ATMOSPHERICAL  PHENOMENA. 

ELEVEN  VOLUMES  IN  TWO-      LARGE  OCTAVO. 


Full- Sheep,  $6.  Half-Calf,  $8. 

Half-Morocco,  $8. 


NEW   YOKK: 
W.    P.    FETRIDGE    &    COMPANY, 

No.    281    B'ROADWAT, 

OPPOSITE     8TEWAETB. 


THE 

RIVAL  BEAUTIES, 

A    NOVEL. 

BY    MISS    PAEDOE. 

1  vol.  8vo.     Price  50  cents. 

"  Is  well  worthy  of  republication.  It  is  a  tale  of  great  power,  and  one  of  the 
most  excellent  novels  that  the  season  has  produced.  The  volume  can  not  fail  to  be 
attractive  from  the  authoress's  well-known  force  of  description  and  knowledge  of 
life  and  character.  Her  powers  are  well  displayed  here  in  many  striking  charac 
ters,  whose  depth  of  outline  and  vivid  delineation  arrest  the  attention  and  awaken 
interest.  The  composition  displays,  for  its  subject,  human  nature  under  the  influ 
ence  of  the  most  powerful  incentives,  in  the  striking  and  vigorous  style  of  ro 
mance.1' — Norfolk  Argus. 

"  This  is  decidedly  one  of  the  best  novels  we  have  ever  read  from  the  pen  of  the 
gifted  authoress.  The  plot  is  simple.  Frederic  Mortimer,  an  only  son,  who,  by 
the  death  of  his  father,  is  just  left  in  possession  of  a  good  estate,  discards  the 
sweet,  modest,  and  lovely  Gertrude,  his  cousin,  to  whom  he  is  betrothed,  and  falls 
headlong  in  love  with  Sybil  Delamere,  a  very  beautiful,  but  heartless,  scheming 
coquette,  of  thejipe  age  of  twenty-eight,  of  whose  antecedents  he  knows  nothing. 
They  aje  married,  but  in  the  course  of  a  year  or  two  she  spends  a  large  portion  of 
his  fortune,  fills  his  house  with  roues  and  women  of  doubtful  character,  shows  her 
contempt  for  him,  and,  at  length,  when  he  can  no  longer  support  her  extravagance, 
she  elopes  with  an  old  fiancee,  whom  she  formerly  jilted  for  a  Sicilian  Prince. 
Gertrude,  after  a  rather  brief  mourning,  suddenly  discovers  that  instead  of  dying 
for  love  of  Frederic  (as  she  had  believed)  she  is  pining  for  the  love  of  a  Mr.  Arm 
strong,  to  whom  she  is  in  due  time  married,  and  who  proves  every  way  deserving 
of  her.  The  character  of  Sybil  is  inimitably  drawn ;  that  of  the  other  dramatis 
personse  not  so  perfectly,  although  still  well  drawn.  The  moral  is  unexceptiona 
ble,  and  the  work  may  be  safely  intrusted  in  the  hands  of  youth.  We  subjoin  one 
brief  extract ;  'tis  all  we  can  make  room  for : 

" « It  is  certain  that  there  is  a  strange  fascination  in  the  idea  of  death  to  the 
young  who  are  subdued  by  a  lingering  sorrow.  The  stronger  and  sterner  interests 
which  link  man  to  the  world  in  riper  age  are  still  unknown  to  them.  That  second 
life,  if  so  it  may  be  termed,  which,  like  Minerva,  springs  in  all  its  power  from  the 
brain,  and  teaches  its  due,  or  at  least  enforced,  subordination  to  the  heart,  has  not 
yet  commenced.  The  chain  of  roses  alone  has  withered,  and  it  is  sweet  and  sooth 
ing  to  hope  to  perish  with  them ;  while,  by  a  strange  contradiction,  it  is  only  when 
the  links  of  iron  have  been  forged,  and  their  weight  is  felt,  that  the  shackled  cap 
tive  revolts  against  release  and  clings  to  his  rusted  fetters.' "— Head  Quarters 
Fredericton,  N.  B. 

NEW    YOEK: 
W.    P.    FETRIDGE    &    COMPANY, 

No.     281     BROADWAY, 

OPPOSITE     8TEWAETS. 


S  ART  ARO  E: 


A    ROMANCE    OF     NORWAY. 


BY   JAMES   A.   MAITLAND 

AUTHOR  OF 

"THE  WATCHMAN." 
"THE  WANDERER." 
"THE  OLD  DOCTOR." 
"  THE  LAWYER'S  STORY." 
ETC.,  ETC. 


NEW    YOKK: 
W.    P.    FETKIDGE    &    COMPANY, 

No.     281     BROADWAY, 

OPPOSITE     STEWABTS. 


THE   COQUETTE; 


or, 


THE  HISTORY  OF  ELIZA  WHARTON. 

1  vol.  12mo.     Price  $1. 


"  ELIZA  WnABTON. — Passing  through  the  village  of  South  Danvers  a  few  days 
since,  we  stepped  into  the  burying-ground,  which  is  contiguous  to  the  roadside,  to 
look  at  the  resting-place  of  the  unfortunate  woman  whose  name  is  at  the  head  of 
this  article.  We  readily  found  it,  for  a  deep,  well-trodden  path,  devoid  of  grass, 
winds  to  the  head-stone.  Evidently  many  pilgrims  visit  the  spot,  The  foot-stone 
has  been  entirely  demolished  and  carried  away,  while  the  head-stone  is  so  marred 
by  vandal  hands  that  the  inscription  is  barely  legible.  The  pieces  broken  off  have 
been  carried  away  as  relics,  and  two  or  three  bruised  stones  lying  on  the  grave 
showed  that  the  work  of  demolition  still  goes  on. 

"Her  history  is  a  sad  commentary  upon  the  frailties  of  human  nature.  Beau 
tiful  as  a  Peri,  so  beautiful,  that  as  she  moved  along  the  street,  '  old  and  young 
turned  to  look'  after  the  graceful  stranger  lady,  she  died  in  loneliness,  the  ill- 
fated  victim  of  criminal  indulgence.  She  was  brought  to  the  old  Bell  Tavern  in 
South  Danvers,  in  17T8,  by  a  gentleman  in  a  chaise,  who  drove  away  and  did  not 
again  appear.  She  was  accustomed  to  sit  at  a  window  of  a  south  chamber  and 
4  wile  away  the  heavy  hours  at  her  needle  or  guitar.'  Her  paramour,  who  was 
said  afterward  to  have  been  Judge  Pierpont  Edwards,  never  visited  her.  Her 
career  was  as  romantic  as  sad,  and  her  fate  as  instructive  as  mournful.  She  died 
in  about  two  weeks  after  the  birth  of  her  child,  leaving  among  her  papers  a  pas 
toral  poem  of  much  merit,  and  the  following  letter : 

"  '  Must  I  die  alone?  Shall  I  never  see  you  more  ?  I  know  you  will  come,  but 
you  will  come  too  late.  Tears  fall  so  I  know  not  how  to  write.  Why  did  you 
leave  me  in  so  much  distress  ?  But  I  will  not  reproach  you.  All  that  was  dear  I 
left  for  you ;  but  do  not  regret  it.  May  God  forgive  both  in  what  was  amiss. 
When  I  go  from  hence  I  will  tell  you  some  way  to  find  me  ;  if  I  die,  will  you  come 
and  drop  a  tear  over  my  grave  ?'  " — Gloucester  Telegraph. 


NEW    YOEK: 
W.    P.    FETRIDGE    &    COMPANY, 

No.     281     BROADWAY, 

OPPOSITE    8TE\VABT8. 


THE 


WIFE'S    TRIALS 


BY    MISS    PARDOE. 


1  Vol.,  8vo.     Price  50  cents. 


Nor  custom,  nor  example,  nor  vast  numbers 
Of  such  as  do  offend,  make  less  the  sin. 
For  each  particular  crime  a  strict  account 
Will  be  exacted."  MASSINGEH. 


NEW    YORK: 
W.    P.    FETRIDGE    &    COMPANY, 

No.     281     BROADWAY, 

OPPOSITE    6TEWABTB. 


"twin* 

A    P  0  M AB  E 

*D  1*  A  7T  ^P  T  *£•  ^T  T 1VT  ^    ^P  75T  ^    75C  A  T  ^ 

J>  e&  ewa  U«k«i»«I»J»ii»«L"vX        tUJW>J3       JMf  «C3s  i  JA  4 

HIGHLY    PERFUMED, 

AND  GREATLY   SUPERIOR  TO   ANY   FRENCH  ARTICLE 
EVER  IMPORTED,  AND  FOR  HALF  THE  PRICE. 


For  dressing  Ladies'  Hair  it  has  no  equal,  giving  it  a  bright  glossy  appearance. 
It  causes  Gentlemen's  Hair  to  curl  in  the  most  natural  manner.  It  removes  Dan 
druff,  always  giving  the  Hair  the  appearance  of  being  freshly  shampooed.  Price 
Only  50  Cents.  None  Genuine  unless  Signed 

FETRIDGE  &  CO.,  PROPRIETORS  OF  THE 


FOR    SALE    BY    ALL    DRUGGISTS. 

BEWARE  OF  COUNTERFEITS, 


GRAY'S  ELEGY. 

ILLUSTRATED  WITH  THIRTY-TWO  BEAUTIFUL  ENGRAVINGS, 

Royal  quarto,  cloth,  full  gilt,  $3 ;  full  morocco,  $6. 


"  On  the  13th  of  September,  1759,  the  gallant  Wolfe  ascended  the  '  Heights  of 
Abraham.1  Busy  with  their  own  thoughts,  not  a  word  was  spoken,  when  Wolfe, 
bending  to  the  officers  near  him,  broke  the  stillness  of  the  solemn  hour  by  repeat 
ing  several  stanzas  of  Gray's  Elegy.  The  following  seemed  prophetic  of  his  own 
fate: 

"  The  boast  of  heraldry,  the  pomp  of  power, 

And  all  that  beauty,  all  that  wealth  e'er  gave, 
Await  alike  the  inevitable  hour : 
The  paths  of  glory  lead  but  to  the  grave." 

"  When  he  had  finished  reciting,  he  said  :  '  Gentlemen,  I  would  prefer  being  the 
author  of  that  poem  to  the  glory  of  beating  the  French  to-morrow.' 

****»» 

"  Daniel  Webster  was  lying  upon  his  death-bed.  In  the  languor  of  decaying  na 
ture,  'mid  the  intervals  of  severe  pain,  the  thoughts  of  the  great  statesman  dwelt 
upon  the  literary  genius  admired  in  his  youthful,  and,  perhaps,  more  romantic 
days.  With  the  hand  of  death  already  extended  to  grasp  him,  and  half  paralyzed 
by  its  near  approach,  he  was  heard  to  murmur  somewhat  indistinctly,  '  Poet, 
poetry — Gray,  Gray.' 

"  His  son  repeated  the  first  line  of  the  Elegy, 

" '  The  curfew  tolls  the  knell  of  parting  day.' 

"  '  That's  it,  that's  it !'  exclaimed  the  dying  statesman.  The  book  was  brought 
and  other  stanzas  read,  which  seemed  to  give  him  pleasure.  Thus  we  see  the 
hero  Wolfe,  the  scholar  and  statesman.  Webster,  while  standing  upon  the  verge  of 
the  shadowy  vale  which  hides  the  spirit  from  the  mortal  world,  deriving  earthly 
comfort  from  this  immortal  production. 

"Our  thoughts  have  thus  wandered  with  the  past  from  a  perusal  of  the  most  beau 
tiful  gift  book  we  ever  saw.  It  is  entitled  '  Gray's  Elegy  Illustrated.'  Messrs. 
FETBLDGE  &  Co.  are  the  enterprising  publishers,  and  deserve  great  credit  for  the 
handsome  manner  in  which  they  have  issued  this,  the  richest  gem  ever  written  in 
the  English  or  any  other  language." — Ellsworth  American. 

"  '  Gray's  Elegy,  written  in  a  Country  Churchyard,1  has  been  issued  in  a  4to. 
volume,  having  one  illustrated  page  allotted  to  each  immortal  stanza  of  the  poem. 
A  brief  memoir  of  Mr,  Webster  is  prefixed  to  the  volume,  which  is  dedicated  to 
his  memory  as  '  the  favorite  poem'  of  the  great  statesman.  The  preface  to  the 
volume  recites  the  interesting  incident  of  Mr.  Webster's  request,  when  dying,  to 
have  passages  of  this  poem  read  to  him,  and  also  Wolfe's  expression  on  the  night 
before  the  battle  of  the  Heights  of  Abraham,  when  he  said  he  would  '  prefer  being 
the  author  of  that  poem  to  the  glory  of  beating  the  French  to-morrow.1  There  is 
a  description,  with  a  vignette  of  the  Stoke  Pogie  Church,  Buckinghamshire,  the" 
churchyard  of  which  is  the  scene  of  this  celebrated  poem,  and  in  which  is  the  tomb 
of  the  poet  Gray.  This  edition  of  the  poem  will  be  an  acceptable  one  to  the  ad 
mirers  of  the  poet,  and  forms  an  appropriate  gift  book.  It  is  from  the  press  of 
W.  P.  FETBIDGE  &  Co."— Taunton  Democrat. 

NEW    YOKK : 
W.   P.   FETRIDGE    &    COMPANY, 

No.     281     BROADWAY, 

OPPOSITE     STEWARTS. 


UNIVERSAL  HISTORY, 


THE    CREATION   OF   THE    WORLD 


BEGINNING  OF  THE  18TH  CENTURY. 


BY  THE  LATE 

HON.  ALEXANDER  FRAZER  TYTLER, 

Lord  Woodhouselee,  Senator  of  the  College  of  Justice,  and  Lord  Commissioner 

of  Judiciary  in  Scotland,  former  Professor  of  Civil  History  and  Greek 

and  Roman  Antiquities  in  the  University  of  Edinburg. 


IN  TWO  VOLUMES,  LARGE  OCTAVO, 

OF  MORE  THAN  A  THOUSAND  PAGES,  WITH  COMPLETE  INDEX. 

PRICE,  Cloth,  $3  25.     Skeep,  $4.    Half-Calf,  $6.    Half-Morocco,  $( 


NEW    YOKK: 

W.    P.    FETRIDGE    &    COMPANY, 
No.     281     BROADWAY, 

OPPOSITE     STEWA.KT8. 


MARRIED  AND  SINGLE  WOMAN'S 
MEDICAL  COMPANION ; 

SHOWING  THE  WHOLE  ORIGIN  AND  MYSTERY  OF  LIFE, 

"WITH  A  PHYSICAL  VIEW  OF  MAN  AND  "WOMAN 
IN  A  STATE  OE  MARRIAGE. 

BY    GEORGE    WATERHOUSE,    M.D., 

ROYAL  PROFESSOR  OF  ANATOMY  AKD  PHYSIOLOGY,  LONDON. 

WITH  ADDITIONS  BY  HENRY  GOLDTHWAITE,  LLD,,  PHILADELPHIA, 

This  rare  and  original  work  is  illustrative  of  the  folio-wing  highly  interesting  and 
important  topics : 

1.  TEMPERAMENTS,  and  their  Influence  upon  Personal  Beauty  and  Manly 

Power. 

2.  CELIBACY,  CONSTANCY,  and  CHASTITY— their  Effect  upon  Health  and 

Mental  Capacity. 

3.  THE  LOSS  OF  NATURAL  VIGOR— Its  Causes,  Consequences,  and  Means 

of  Relief. 

4.  THE  ANCIENT  CONGRESS  OF  JUDGES  ON  SEXUAL  ADAPTATION 

— A  singular  phase  in  Human  History. 

5.  BARRENNESS  and  STERILITY— The  Infelicities  which  they  cause;  the 

means  of  Cure  pointed  out. 

6.  THE  MARRIAGE  STATE— The  Perfection  of  its  Joys,  the  Source  of  its 

Sorrows. 

7.  SINGULAR  NATIONAL  CUSTOMS  concerning  Courtship,  Betrothal,  and 

Marriage. 

8.  INFLUENCE  OF  MARRIAGE  UPON  HABITS  OF  LIFE,   THOUGHT 

HEALTH,  and  WORLDLY  PROSPERITY. 

9.  MANLY  POWER— Its  Origin,  Functions,  Causes  of  Injury,  and  Means  of 

Preservation. 

10.  FEMALE   FUNCTIONS  and  HABILITIES— Causes    of   Happiness    and 
Misery. 

11.  PUBERTY  and  CONSTITUTIONAL  DEVELOPMENTS— Causes  which 
Retard  or  Promote  it. 

It  is  a  Work  which  all  persons,  old  or  young,  male  or  female,  married  or  single, 
ought  to  read,  on  account  of  the  rare  and  valuable  knowledge  which  it  contains, 
and  the  useful  hints  which  it  gives  for  increasing  the  Felicities  and  avoiding  the 
Infelicities  of  the  Married  Life.  1  Vol.,  12mo.  Price  $1. 

Persons  remitting  $1  to  WM.  P.  FETRIDGE  &  CO.  will  receive  a  Copy  by  re 
turn  mail,  postage  paid. 

NEW    YOKK: 
W.    P.    FETRIDGE    &    COMPANY, 

No.     281     BROADWAY, 

OPPOSITE     STEWARTS. 


"  M  0  R  E  D  U  N :" 


TALE  OF  THE  TWELVE  HUNDRED  AND  TEN. 

BY 

SIR  WALTER  SCOTT,  BART. 


"We  have  received  from  FETKIDGE  &  Co.,  the  enterprising  publishers,  a  copy  of 
the  new  old  novel  attributed  to  Walter  Scott.  The  title  of  the  work  is  '  More- 
dun,'  and  it  is  a  tale  of  Scotland,  the  favorite  field  of  Scott's  prolific  fame. 
Whether  written  by  him  or  not,  it  is  the  'best  novel  which  has  appeared  for  many 
a  month,  and  must  command  a  heavy  sale." — Woodstock  Paper. 

"This  work  is  selling  very  rapidly,  and  the  first  edition  of  25,000  copies  is  nearly 
exhausted.  The  newspapers  are  discussing  the  merits  of  this  work,  and  particular 
attention  is  paid  to  the  following  question, '  Who  is  the  author  ?'  The  London  Lit 
erary  Gazette  says,  '  It  is  probable  that  this  work  was  written  before  the  "  Waver- 
ly,"  which  at  once  rendered  Scott  famous,  and  that  he  hesitated  to  publish  it. 
Indeed,  it  is  well  known  that  the  "  Great  Unknown"  wrote  several  works,  which, 
doubtful  of  his  dawning  genius  for  novel  writing,  he  committed  to  the  flames.  It 
is  more  than  probable,  under  the  circumstances  fully  explained  by  M.  Cabany — 
but  which  we  have  not  space  to  enter  into — that  "  Moredun"  was  spared.'  At  all 
events,  the  book  is  published  by  FETEIDGE  ;  the  curiosity  of  the  public  has  been 
sufficiently  excited  to  induce  them  to  read  it,  and  it  will  have  a  large  sale ;  and  we 
believe  that  most  Scott  connoisseurs  will  find  in  the  plot  and  plan  and  style  of 
the  story  enough  of  '  Scotiana1  to  impress  upon  their  minds  the  fact  that  '  More- 
dun'  is  a  genuine  '  Waverly.'  At  all  events,  the  book  has  merit  enough  of  its 
own  to  render  it  generally  attractive." — Boston  Sunday  Dispatch. 

NEW    YOEK: 
W.    P.    FETRIDGE    &    COMPANY, 

No.     281     BROADWAY 

OPPOSITE     STEWABT8. 


FETR1DGE   AND   COMPANY. 


VALUABLE   WORK, 


PUBLISHED    BY 


W.  P.  FETRILGE  &  CO,  NEW  YORK. 


UNIVERSAL    HISTORY, 

FROM   THE 

CREATION  OF  THE  WORLD 

TO   THE 

BEGINNING  OF  THE  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY. 

BY    THE    LATE 

HON.  ALEXANDER  ERASER  TYTLER, 

Lord  Woodhouselee,  Senator  of  the  College  of  Justice,  and  Lord  Com- 

missioner  of  Justiciary  in  Scotland,  and  former  Professor  of 

Civil  History  and  Greek  and  Roman  Antiquities  in  the 

University  of  Edinburgh. 

In  two  volumes,  large  octavo,  of  more  than  a  thousand 
pages,  with  a  complete  index. 


This  important  work  has  been  stereotyped  at  considerable  expense 
and  is  now  published  in  the  most  substantial  and  attractive  form,    it 


THE 

JEALOUS  AVIEE 

BY    MISS    PAKDOE. 

1  vol.  8vo,     Price  50  cents. 


"  The  book  opens  with  an  interview  between  a  melodramatic  and  peremptory 
papa  and  his  beautiful  and  equally  obstinate  daughter.  The  ambitious  and  calcu 
lating  father  cherishes  the  insane  idea  that  his  child,  whom  he  has  reared  in  lux 
ury  and  elegance,  who  is  in  her  twenty-sixth  year,  and  as  spirited  as  she  is  hand 
some,  will  marry  an  egotistical  earl,  who,  at  best,  is  but  a  sybaritic  sexagenarian. 
Mademoiselle  objects  naturally  to  such  a  disposition  of  her  hand  and  happiness ; 
the  obdurate  father  insists  and  indulges  in  forcible  language  ;  the  daughter  abne 
gates  the  charms  of  a  coronet,  and  declares  her  heart  pledged  to  another,  a  boy 
six  or  seven  years  her  junior,  who  subsequently  proves  a  trump.  A  general  melee, 
followed  by  plots  and  counter-plots,  fills  the  next  chapters.  The  girl,  finding  at 
last  that  there  is  no  escape  from  her  abhorred  and  noble  pursuer,  vamoses  the  pa 
ternal  ranch  and  becomes  the  wife  of  her  young  lover.  Honeymoon,  poetry,  moon 
light  walks,  etc.,  etc.  The  husband  meets  with  a  widow  lady,  an  old  acquaint 
ance,  who  has  a  daughter,  a  mere  child,  but  surpassingly  beautiful,  and  introduces 
them  to  his  wife,  who  no  sooner  sees  the  young  beauty  than  she  begins  nursing  the 
monster  with  the  verdant  optics.  A  cradle  containing  a  chubby  cherub  appears 
in  due  season — the  baby  is  called  a  bond  of  union — the  wife  becomes,  from  some 
unexplained  and  to-  us  inexplicable  reason,  South  Carolma-ish  in  her  desire  to  dis 
solve  that  union.  Her  inferior  moiety  suffers  three  or  four  family  jars  with  be 
coming  dignity,  but  at  length  leaves  for  '  parts  unknown,'  where  he  is  probably 
located  at  the  present  moment.  Two  rich  relations  being  conveniently  killed  off 
by  consumption  and  paralysis,  and  the  lady's  boy  made  thereby  presumptive  heir 
to  a  title  and  large  estate,  he  and  his  mother  are  recalled  by  the  peremptory  grand 
father,  who  comes  down  a  peg  or  two  in  his  dictatorial  authority." — Standard, 
New  Bedford. 

"  The  Jealous  Wife,  written  by  Miss  Pardoe,  is  now  on  our  table  by  the  kind 
ness  of  W.  P.  FETEIDGB  &  Co.,  publishers,  New  York.  Of  this  work  the  New- 
York  Sun  says :  '  That  it  is  a  masterly  sketch  of  what  pride  and  passion  can  effect. 
It  is  a  composition  that  displays,  for  its  subject,  human  nature  under  the  influ 
ence  of  its  most  powerful  incentives.  The  passion  that  here  prevails  is  described 
in  "  The  Caxtons"  as  "  the  love  that  gives  fire  to  the  song,  and  tragedy  to  the 
stage,"  and  those  who  desiderate  the  striking  and  vigorous  style  of  romance,  will 
appreciate  the  ability  that  has  created  this  work.'  "—Dispatch,  Waterford,  Pa. 

NEW    YOKK: 
W.    P.    FETRIDGE    &    COMPANY, 

No.     281     BROADWAY, 

OPPOSITE    STEWABT8. 


THE 


PLANTER'S  DAUGHTER: 


Citle  of 


BY 


MISS  A.   E.   DUPUY, 

AITTHOB  OF   "OTELIA   CLAYTON,"  "  HtTGTTEXOT    EXILES,"   "COUNTRY 
NEIGHBORHOOD,"  ETC. 


NEW   YORK : 
W.   P.   FETRIDGE    &    COMPANY 

No.     281     BROADWAT, 


OPPOSITE     BTEVART8. 
1857. 


THE  CONFESSIONS 

A    PRETTY     WOMAN. 

BY   MISS   PARDOB. 
1  vol.  8vo.    Price  50  cents. 


"  The  novels  of  this  brilliant  author  have  ever  had  a  wide  popularity.  The  Con 
fessions  of  a  Pretty  Woman  was  published  some  years  since,  but  we  believe  the 
edition  long  since  exhausted,  and  are  glad  to  see  it  republished.  This  work  is 
highly  dramatic,  full  of  exciting  incidents,  and  striking  portraiture  of  character. 
This  is  a  tale  of  the  old  fashioned  sort,  certainly  entirely  unlike  the  large  class  of 
fictitious  writings  which  aim  at  social  and  moral  reforms.  But  it  will  be  read  with 
intense  interest,  and  we  think  not  without  profit,  in  showing  how  surely  ungov- 
erned  passions  must  end  in  misery  to  their  possessors,  and  to  all  within  their  influ 
ence.  In  the  sparkling  style,  the  vivid  delineation  of  character,  and  the  sustained 
interest  of  her  plots,  this  lady  is  not  surpassed.  Those  who  have  not  read  this 
volume,  are  sure  of  a  long  and  great  pleasure,  and  few  who  have  read  it  will  fail 
of  its  reperusal." — New  Bedford  Daily  Mercury. 

"  The  title  alone  of  this  charming  story  is  sufficient  to  attract  every  bachelor 
who  may  cast  his  eyes,  in  search  of  novelties,  over  W.  P.  FETEIDGE  &  Co.'s  well 
filled  counters,  and  the  book  will  be  eagerly  read  by  the  fairer  portion  of  creation, 
for  women  entertain  a  weakness  for  confessions  of  all  kinds,  more  especially  for 
those  coming  from  their  fairer  (and  in  consequence  envied)  sisters. 

"  The  tale  is  of  fashionable  life  in  the  higher  circles  of  English  society ;  of  ma- 
nceuvering  mothers  with  marriageable  daughters ;  of  heartless  but  elegant  beaux ; 
cool-blooded  fortune-hunters ;  of  daughters  envious  of  their  own  mothers  and  sis 
ters  ;  it  shows  that  worldly-minded  and  calculating  parents  lose  too  soon  the  love 
and  respect  of  their  offspring  ;  it  proves  that  marriages,  wherein  the  advantages 
of  money  or  rank  are  alone  considered,  end,  as  they  deserve  to,  in  mutual  recrim 
ination  and  unhappiness.  All  this  is  written  with  the  force  of  description  and 
truth  of  delineation,  with  the  purity  and  elegance  of  style  which  peculiarly  mark 
the  works  of  Miss  Pardoe,  and  the  whole  forms  a  novel  at  once  interesting  and 
Instructive.11— -Standard,  New  Bedford. 

NEW  YORK: 
W.  P.  FETRIDGE  &  COMPANY, 

No.     281     BROADWAY, 

OPPOSITE    STEWARTS. 


HAGAR  THE  MARTYR; 


OB. 


PASSION  AND  REALITY. 


A  TALE  OF  THE  NORTH  AND  SOUTH 


MRS.  H.  MARION  STEPHENS. 


WILL     IS     DESTINY. 


Alas !  O,  alas  I  for  the  trusting  heart, 

When  its  fairy  dream  is  o'er; 
When  it  learns  that  to  trust  is  to  be  deceived 
Finds  the  things  most  false  which  it  mos 

Alaa  1  for  it  dreamt  no  more  I 


NEW    YORK : 
W.   P.    FETRIDGE    &    COMPANY, 

No.     281     BROADWAY 

OPPOSITE     STEWARTS. 

1857. 


THE    TKUTH    CONFIRMED. 


Proved  to  be  a  Genuine  Production  of  Sir 
Walter  Scott. 

Hear  what  the  public  press  says. — There  can  be  no  doubt  that  this 
exciting  romance  is  from  the  pen  of  the  Great  Unknown. — From  the 
London  Literary  Gazette. 

"  Moredun"  is  much  more  interesting  than  many  of  Scott's  otner 
novels. — From  the  Boston  Journal. 

The  characters  are  well  drawn ;  the  descriptions  of  events  and 
scenery  vivid,  and  the  interest  of  the  tale  sustained,  without  nagging, 
from  the  first  page  to  the  last.  Some  of  the  scenes  are  depicted  in  Sir 
Walter  Scott's  best  style,  and  equal  to  any  of  the  kind  that  ever  ema- 
aated  from  his  pen. — From  the  Charleston  Courier. 

It  is  superior  in  plot  and  style  to  others  of  Scott's  production, 
and  is  infinitely  superior  to  novels  of  the  present  day. — From  the 
Citizen. 

It  abounds  with  graphic  descriptions  and  stirring  incidents. — From 

ihe  Herald. 

•»>•»•>». 

THE  JEALOUS  WIFE; 

A  NOYEL. 

BY  MISS  PAEDOE. 


THE 


of  it  f  rrttjj 

BY  MISS  PAEDOE, 


Author  of  the  "Life  of  Marie  de  Medicis,"  "Confessions  of  a  Pretty 
Woman,"  "  City  of  the  Sultan,"  "  Louis  the  Fourteenth  and  the 
Court  of  the  Seventeenth  Century,"  "  Rival  Beauties,"  "Romance 
of  the  Harem,"  &c. 

NEW   YORK: 
W.   P.   FETRIDGE    &    COMPANY, 

No.    281    BROADWAY, 

OPPOSITE     STEWARTS. 

1857. 


SARATOGA 


of  1T8T. 


NEW    YORK : 
W.   P.   FETRIDGE    &    COMPANY, 

No.     281     BROADWAY 

OPPOSITE    STEWABTS. 

1857. 


EVENTIDE 


A    SERIES 


TA.LES    -A-ISTZ)     JPOEMS. 


BT 


EFFIE  AFTON. 


u  I  never  gaze 

Upon  the  evening,  but  a  tide  of  awe, 
And  love,  and  wonder,  from  the  Infinite, 
Swells  up  within  me,  as  the  running  brine 
From  the  smooth-glistening,  wide-heaving  saa, 
Grows  in  the  creeks  and  channels  of  a  stream 
Until  it  threats  its  banks.    It  ia  not  joy, 
T  ia  Badness  more  divine." 

ALEXANDER  SMITH. 


NEW   YOKK: 
W.   P.  FETRIDGE    &    COMPANY 

No.    281    BROADWAY, 

OPPOSITE    STEWARTS. 
1857. 


THE   ADVENTURES 


OP  A 


ROYING  DIPLOMATIST 


BY 


HENRY    WIKOFF, 

AUTHOR    OV    "MY    COURTSHIP    AND    ITS    0  O  N  8  K  Q  O  EN  0  E8. 


King.— What  do  you  call  the  play? 
Hamlet. — Tho  mousetrap. 

HAMLET,  Act  III.  Scene  3. 


NEW    YORK : 
W.  P.   FETRIDGE    &    COMPANY 

No.     281     BROADWAY 
OPPOSITE:  STEVABTS. 

1857. 


HOME  SCENES  AND  HOME  SOUNDS; 


OK, 


THE  WORLD  FROM  MY  WINDOW. 


H.  MARION  STEPHENS. 


NEW   YORK: 
W.   P.   FETRIDGE    &    COMPANY, 

No.    281    BROADWAY, 

OPPOSITE    STEWABTB. 

1857. 


THE 


OLD    YICARAGE. 


A    NOVEL. 


BY    MRS.  HUBBACK, 

AUTHOBE88  OP 

'THE  WIFE'S  SISTER,"   "MAY   AND  DECEMBER,* 
ETC.   ETC. 


NEW   YOKK : 

W.  P.   FETRIDGE    &    COMPANY 
No.    281    BROADWAY 

OPPOSITE    8TEWABTS. 
1857. 


fittk  Jfllb'  «ton: 


STORIES,    SKETCHES,   POEMS,  AND 
PARAGRAPHS, 

DESIGNED  TO 

AMUSE    AND    BENEFIT    THE    YOUNG 

BT 

MRS.  L.  S.  GOODWIN 


NEW   YOKK : 
W.   P.   FETRIDGE    &    COMPAN-Y 

tfo.     281     BROADWAY 

OPPOSITE    STEWARTS. 

1857. 


THE 


BALM  OF  THOUSAND  FLOWERS, 


A  PERFUMED  BREATH.— What  lady  or  gentleman  -would  remain  under  the 
curse  of  a  disagreeable  breath,  when  using  the  "Balm  of  a  Thousand  Flowers," 
as  a  dentifrice,  would  not  only  render  it  sweet,  but  leave  the  teeth  white  as  ala 
baster  ?  Many  persons  do  not  know  their  breath  is  bad,  and  the  subject  is  so  del 
icate,  their  friends  will  never  mention  it.  Pour  a  single  drop  of  the  "  Balm"  on 
your  tooth-brush,  and  wash  the  teeth  night  and  morning.  A  fifty  cent  Bottle  will 
last  a  year. 

A  BEAUTIFUL  COMPLEXION  may  easily  be  acquired  by  using  the  "  Balm 
of  a  Thousand  Flowers."  It  will  remove  Tan,  Pimples,  and  Freckles  from  the 
Skin,  leaving  it  of  a  soft  and  roseate  hue.  Wet  a  towel,  pour  on  two  or  three  drops, 
and  wash  the  face  night  and  morning. 

SHAVING  MADE  EASY.— Wet  your  shaving  brush  in  either  warm  or  cold 
water,  pour  on  two  or  three  drops  of  "  Balm  of  a  Thousand  Flowers,"  rub  the 
beard  well,  and  it  will  make  a  beautiful  soft  lather,  much  facilitating  the  operation 
of  shaving. 

BEWARE  OF  COUNTERFEITS. — None  is  GENUINE  without  the  WRITTEN  name  on 
the  Wrapper  of  FETRIDGE  &  GO. 

PRICE  FIFTY  CENTS  PEE  BOTTLE. 

W.  P.  FETRIDGE  &  CO.,  281  BROADWAY, 

(OPPOSITE  STEWARTS),  NEW  YORK. 


RETURN 

TO— * 


MAIN  CIRCULATION 


ALL  BOOKS  ARE  SUBJECT  TO  RECALL 
RENEW  BOOKS  BY  CALLING  642-3405 


DUE  AS  STAMPED  BELOW 


APK  1  k!  W( 

RECEIVI 

;D 

APR  ;  1  1 

196 

CIRCULATION 

DEPT. 

FORM  NO.  DD6 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA,  BERKELEY 
BERKELEY,  CA  94720 


LD  2lA-38m-5,'68 
(J401slO)476B 


niversity  of  California 
Berkeley 


YB  33687 


I 


510202 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


v-.   1* 
*•"£ 

*;  *    .*>>*'> 


. 


.  . 


